Washington offers $20 million bounty for intel on Iran nuclear sites

The United States government is offering up to $20 million for information regarding Iran's nuclear program, according to a statement released by the State Department on Friday. The offer is part of the Rewards for Justice program, which also proposes relocation assistance for sources who provide actionable intelligence on Iranian facilities, equipment, or personnel. The agency accepts tips through Signal, Telegram, and Tor Browser in several languages.

The Rewards for Justice program began operations in 1984. Since then, it has paid more than $250 million to over 125 individuals who provided useful information to protect US national security. The program maintains strict confidentiality for sources and offers relocation for a source and their family on a case-by-case basis. Current rewards across the program range from less than $1 million to $25 million for issues including terrorism, election interference, cyber activity, and North Korean financial mechanisms.

On the same day, the US and Canada announced new sanctions targeting eight digital asset service providers. The two nations determined that these firms help the Iranian regime use digital assets to evade existing sanctions and fund terrorism. The measures effectively cut the firms off from the dollar-based financial system. They block assets the firms hold in the United States and prohibit transactions with US persons or entities.

Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury, stated that the department will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime's financial channels anywhere in the world. The coordinated action combines an incentive for private intelligence with direct restrictions on financial infrastructure. The State Department issued the reward offer via its Rewards for Justice initiative, while the Treasury Department led the announcement of the new sanctions. Both actions were disclosed on Friday, marking a simultaneous push on intelligence gathering and financial pressure.

The reward structure allows for flexible payouts depending on the quality of the information provided. Sources can communicate through encrypted platforms to maintain security. The sanctions target specific digital asset providers rather than the banking sector as a whole. This approach aims to isolate the entities facilitating the transfer of digital assets for the Iranian government. The combined effort seeks to tighten the noose around both the nuclear program and the financial networks supporting it.