The United States is offering a reward of up to $20 million "and possible relocation" for information about Iran's nuclear programme, US Central Command said on Friday (November 6), The Hindu reported, citing AFP.
The offer is from Rewards for Justice, a State Department programme set up in 1984 to pay for information that protects American lives and interests. It covers information on Iran's nuclear "facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community", Central Command said on X. According to BBC Hindi, this includes people involved in supplying and moving equipment. The programme did not say exactly what information would earn the full $20 million (about ₹180 crore, BBC Hindi said).
Why the US says it needs tips
The State Department said Iran's "lack of compliance" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its safeguards obligations has made the agency lose "continuity of knowledge" about Iran's production and stock of key components such as centrifuges.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said US forces have effectively destroyed Iran's nuclear programme. On Friday he also said Iran, whose economy and military have been badly damaged in eight months of war, was eager to end the conflict. "They want to make a deal very badly," he said. Earlier in the week he said he still had to "take care" of one or two targets, including Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, a suspected nuclear site that Tehran denies is one.
Iran's response
Iranian Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said on Saturday that Iran's armed forces were "stronger than they were at the beginning of the war", the state news agency IRNA reported, according to The Hindu. He said Tehran still controlled the Strait of Hormuz and would keep it closed until the US met its demands, and that the armed forces' response to any attack would be "immediate, effective, and without geographical limitations".
Why it matters for India
The Strait of Hormuz normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil consumption, The Hindu reported. Mediators are trying to stop the fighting from resuming, and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said this week that his government was still trying to resolve the crisis through dialogue.