US offers $20 million for information on Iran's nuclear program

The reward offer

The US Central Command (Centcom) announced on 6 November that the Rewards for Justice program, run by the State Department, will pay up to $20 million plus possible relocation to anyone who supplies information on Iran's nuclear program. In a post on X, Centcom asked for details on the country's nuclear facilities, its equipment and the personnel attached to them, including members of the scientific community, as well as on the movement of any of those elements. The program dates to 1984 and pays for information that protects American lives and interests. The State Department said Iran's lack of compliance with its IAEA safeguards obligations has left the agency without 'continuity of knowledge' over Iran's production and stocks of key components such as centrifuges. The department gave no details on what information would qualify for the top reward.

Trump's account of the war

The war began with US and Israeli strikes in February, and Donald Trump has repeatedly said he will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. On the evening of 6 November in West Palm Beach, Florida, he said US military action had kept Tehran from getting nuclear arms. He told reporters in the night from 6 to 7 November that US forces had neutralized Iran's nuclear capabilities, adding that one or two more sites still needed attention. Earlier in the week of 2 November he had named Pickaxe Mountain among the remaining targets. He also argued that Israel's existence depends on the strikes.

“If we didn't hit Iran, you wouldn't have Israel today.”

Trump added that a nuclear-armed Iran would have used its weapons and devastated the Middle East. The White House said after strikes on several Iranian facilities in summer 2025 that they had been destroyed, and DPA later reported that some experts thought Iran may have moved part of its nuclear material to safety beforehand.

Pickaxe Mountain and the remaining targets

Kolang mountain, known in English as Pickaxe Mountain, is suspected by US intelligence of hiding an underground nuclear complex. Tehran denies that the site is a nuclear facility and has always rejected seeking an atomic bomb, insisting on its right to civil nuclear energy. Recent US strikes hit Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz. The State Department, in its offer statement, cited IAEA data from 2025 showing Iran enriching uranium to 60% purity, a level US authorities call close to what weapons require. Experts quoted in the same reporting estimated that Iran's stockpile could be enough for several weapons if it were enriched further.

Talks and the wider war

Qatar-mediated negotiations to end the conflict continue despite the Qeshm strikes, and mediators are working to prevent a resumption of fighting. Trump said Iran's economy and military had been severely damaged over eight months of war. He also said Tehran wants a deal.

“We're dealing with them now. They want to make a deal very badly.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 3 November that his government was still trying to resolve the crisis through dialogue. Trump had earlier said he still had to deal with one or two targets, including one in central Iran.

The CIA parallel

Centcom's public appeal for insiders follows an approach the CIA had already used earlier in 2026, when it sought to recruit officers of the Chinese army. Beijing responded at the time that it would take all necessary measures against foreign espionage attempts. Centcom's request therefore reuses a tactic that a US intelligence agency had previously tried against a rival military. The Iranian government has continued to deny that it seeks nuclear weapons.