State Department Offers Up to $20 Million for Tips on Iran's Nuclear Program as Trump Weighs Renewed Strikes

The U.S. government is offering up to $20 million, plus possible relocation, to anyone who can supply information on Iran's nuclear program.

The State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced the offer late Friday, Nov. 6. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) amplified it in a post on X.

"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," CENTCOM said.

What the State Department is asking for

The program is seeking details on nuclear scientists and staff, related technologies and capabilities, and the organizations and people tied to them. Tips can go through Signal or a Tor-based tip line. "You may be eligible for a reward and relocation," the program said in its post.

The State Department has not said what information would earn the full $20 million.

Its notice leans on the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA reported in 2025 that Iran is enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, which the notice calls "a short technical step from the 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon." It adds that Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state producing uranium at that level, and that experts estimate the stockpile, if enriched further, could be enough for several weapons.

The notice also says Iran's "lack of compliance with the IAEA on safeguards obligations" has cost the agency its "continuity of knowledge" about Iran's production and inventory of key components such as centrifuges.

Rewards for Justice dates to 1984. It was built to combat international terrorism and has since expanded to cover foreign election interference, malicious cyber activity and North Korea.

A war in its ninth month

The U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28. Trump has said the central goal is keeping Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. He has repeatedly said the program has been destroyed, and earlier listed other aims, including crippling Iran's military and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking Friday night in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said: "We're dealing with them now. They want to make a deal very badly." He also defended the campaign: "If we didn't hit Iran, you wouldn't have Israel today. If they had nuclear, they would have used nuclear."

A public bounty on nuclear sites and scientists sits awkwardly beside the claim that the program is gone. The reward notice itself describes the IAEA as having lost track of centrifuge production and inventory. Trump said earlier this week that one or two sites remain.

Strike decision pending

Trump met his national security team Thursday to consider resuming strikes, after saying he would wait until after the midterms. In the Oval Office he said Washington would "make a decision," asking whether the U.S. wants to go further so that "it will never happen again."

"I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to. You'll know soon enough," he said.

Senior U.S. officials told Fox News that Nov. 9 brings a new moon over the Middle East, meaning little to no moonlight, a condition favorable for military operations. No decision on timing has been announced.

The site Trump has singled out is Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground facility near Natanz. Trump said Nov. 1 at Mar-a-Lago that the U.S. was in no rush. Tehran strongly denies that the site is nuclear-related, and Iran maintains its nuclear program serves peaceful purposes.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that his government continues to seek a resolution through dialogue. Mediators have stepped up efforts to head off renewed fighting.

Pressure on other fronts

Washington is also squeezing Iran's finances. Treasury announced sanctions on eight Canada-based money services firms that it alleges facilitated transactions with sanctioned Iranian entities. The designations freeze any U.S. assets and bar dealings with U.S. persons.

"Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the action was coordinated with Canada, including its financial intelligence unit, FINTRAC.

A U.S. official separately told RFE/RL that Iranian civilians should know the "safest place" for them is "inside their home."

The reward offer does not name any target or reveal any intelligence the U.S. already holds. Whether it produces anything usable, and whether Trump orders strikes around the Nov. 9 new moon or lets negotiations run, is not yet known.