Key points

  • The United States is offering up to $20 million, and possible relocation, for information about Iran's nuclear programme.
  • The offer was announced on Friday by US Central Command in a post on X, through the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme, which was set up in 1984.
  • The programme seeks information about nuclear facilities, equipment and associated personnel, including scientists, and their movement; tips can be sent through the messaging apps Signal and Telegram, or the Tor browser.
  • The State Department's notice says Iran's failure to comply with its safeguards obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency has left the agency without "continuity of knowledge" over the production and inventory of key components such as centrifuges.
  • The announcement gave no details of what information would earn the full $20 million. It comes as President Donald Trump says talks with Tehran are going "very well" and Qatar mediates a proposal to bridge the two sides' differences.

The United States is offering a reward of up to $20 million, and possible relocation, for information about Iran's nuclear programme, the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme has announced. The offer was publicised on Friday by US Central Command, the American military command for the Middle East, in a post on the social network X.

Central Command said: "Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran's nuclear program, including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community, or the movement of any of the above." The post linked to the programme's page on the State Department's website.

The Rewards for Justice programme was established in 1984 under the State Department's national security rewards initiative to offer financial incentives for information that protects American lives and interests. It has typically paid for information used to track down terrorists and cut off terrorist financing; it is unusual for the United States to attach a reward to information on Iran's nuclear programme.

What the reward covers

Key figures
MeasureFigureSource
Maximum rewardUp to $20 millionUS Central Command / Rewards for Justice
Possible relocationOffered to tipstersRewards for Justice
Programme established1984US State Department
Uranium enriched to 60% purity440.9kg (as of 13 June 2025)IAEA, cited in the Rewards for Justice notice
Weapons-grade threshold90% enrichmentIAEA reporting

The programme is seeking information about Iran's nuclear facilities, its equipment and the people associated with the programme, particularly members of its scientific community, as well as the movement of any of these. Tipsters are directed to contact the programme through the messaging apps Signal and Telegram, or through the Tor browser, which conceals a user's online activity. The announcement did not specify what information would qualify for the maximum $20 million reward, and the notice carries no date and does not say how long the offer will stay open.

The Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, home of the US Department of State
The Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, home of the US Department of State, which runs the Rewards for Justice programme. Photo: U.S. Department of State (public domain). Source file

Why Washington says it needs the information

In its statement announcing the reward, the State Department said Iran's "lack of compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on safeguards obligations has led to the agency's loss of 'continuity of knowledge' regarding Iran's production and inventory of key components like centrifuges". In other words, the agency no longer has a complete record of what Iran is producing and holding in its nuclear programme.

The notice also cited the IAEA's reporting that Iran was enriching uranium to 60% purity. That is technically close to the 90% generally associated with weapons-grade uranium, and Iran is the only state without nuclear weapons to have produced uranium at such a high enrichment level, according to the notice. The IAEA's estimate, based on information available up to 13 June 2025, put Iran's stockpile at 440.9 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60% purity. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful.

The wider picture

The reward was announced on the same day Mr Trump confirmed that American forces had carried out limited strikes on an Iranian air defence system on Qeshm Island, which he described as minor, and said Tehran wanted a deal to end a conflict now more than eight months old. Mr Trump said his administration was doing "very well" in its contacts with Tehran. The Statesman reported that Vice President JD Vance has been leading indirect negotiations with Iran over the past two weeks to secure a new ceasefire and restart nuclear talks.

Qatar, which is mediating between Washington and Tehran, has put forward a two-day proposal aimed at bridging their differences over the nuclear programme, sanctions, frozen Iranian assets and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran is reviewing it. Among Iran's conditions before engaging in nuclear negotiations are an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports, the lifting of sanctions, the unfreezing of its assets, compensation for war damage and an end to hostilities across the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.

On Saturday, Iranian Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia warned that any further US attack would invite an immediate response, with Iranian forces prepared to strike American targets without geographical restrictions. He said Iran's armed forces were stronger than when the war began in February.

The Vienna International Centre, headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency
The Vienna International Centre, headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency says it has lost continuity of knowledge over Iran's centrifuge production and inventory. Photo: IAEA Imagebank / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0). Source file · Licence

What happens next

The announcement gave no indication of how long the offer would stay open. Talks between Washington and Tehran continue through Qatar's mediation, and the reward now sits alongside them as a parallel American effort to learn what remains of Iran's nuclear programme after months of strikes. Europe Unfolded will report the next developments as they are confirmed.

Updates & corrections

Published 7 November 2026.

Sources

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