The offer targets 10 officials associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a powerful military force created after the Iranian Revolution and tasked with safeguarding Iran’s clerical political system. The State Department said the individuals command or direct elements of the IRGC that it accuses of planning and executing attacks abroad.

Mojtaba Khamenei assumed Iran’s highest political and religious office after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed along with several senior Iranian officials in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes that began on Feb. 28.

The younger Khamenei is believed to have been wounded in the attacks and has not appeared publicly since the start of the conflict, though he issued his first statement on Thursday.

In addition to the supreme leader, the reward notice seeks information about Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and two officials from Khamenei’s office.

Larijani appeared on Friday in video footage verified by Reuters alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during a rally in Tehran.

The appearance came despite comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggesting that Iran’s leadership was hiding underground amid ongoing military strikes.

The State Department website also lists four additional officials connected to the IRGC, including the corps’ commander and the secretary of Iran’s defense council, though their names and images were not provided.

Washington has designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization and accuses it of orchestrating attacks that have killed U.S. citizens. U.S. officials have also alleged that Iran planned assassination attempts against U.S. President Donald Trump and other American officials in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

Iran denies supporting terrorism and has repeatedly rejected U.S. accusations as politically motivated efforts to justify sanctions and pressure campaigns.Officials from the Revolutionary Guards were not immediately available for comment on Friday, Iran’s weekly day of rest.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Asif Merchant was found guilty of murder-for-hire and attempting to carry out an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries following a trial in the Brooklyn federal court. Prosecutors said the plot involved efforts to recruit individuals in the United States to target prominent political leaders.Alleged retaliation plotFederal prosecutors said Merchant attempted to organize the assassination plan as retaliation for Washington’s 2020 drone strike that killed Soleimani during Trump’s first term in office. Investigators said Merchant tried to recruit people inside the United States to assist in the plan.

According to court filings, the alleged targets included Trump as well as then-President Joe Biden and former U.S. ambassador and Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley during the 2024 election cycle.The Justice Department said the plot was directed by Iranian authorities and linked to Iran’s elite security force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC holds extensive military, intelligence and economic influence within Iran.Defendant’s testimonyMerchant acknowledged during the trial that he had agreed to participate in the plan with members of the Revolutionary Guards but told the court he did so under duress. He testified that he feared for the safety of his family living in Tehran if he refused to cooperate.He said he was not ordered to assassinate a specific individual but claimed his Iranian handler referenced three potential targets during conversations in the Iranian capital.Tehran has previously denied accusations that it orchestrated assassination plots against current or former U.S. officials.Plot disrupted by informantU.S. law enforcement officials said the plan was thwarted before any attack could take place. The Justice Department said a person Merchant contacted in April 2024 to assist with the operation reported the approach to authorities and became a confidential informant.

Authorities subsequently monitored Merchant’s activities before arresting him later in 2024. He pleaded not guilty at the time of his arrest.The trial began last week, days before the United States and Israel launched a major military assault on Iran that has since expanded into one of the region’s largest conflicts in years.Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has said at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have been killed and thousands wounded in the attacks. Iranian authorities have also reported the deaths of several senior figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.The case underscores long-running tensions between Washington and Tehran following the killing of Soleimani, a senior Iranian military commander widely seen as a key architect of Iran’s regional military strategy.