The United States is offering up to $20 million and the possibility of relocation to people who provide information about Iran’s nuclear program, citing gaps in what authorities know about the country’s nuclear activities.
U.S. Central Command announced the offer in a post on X, saying the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program was seeking information related to Iran’s nuclear program. The request could cover nuclear facilities and equipment, people connected to the program—including scientists and other personnel—and the movements of individuals, equipment and facilities.
The announcement directed potential informants to the program’s website, where information can be submitted to U.S. authorities. Established in 1984, Rewards for Justice offers financial rewards for information that helps protect U.S. interests and national security.
The State Department said the offer was prompted by “information gaps regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.” It linked those gaps to Iran’s failure to meet its safeguards obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying the agency had consequently been unable to maintain access to information about Iran’s production and stocks of key materials and equipment, including centrifuges.
The IAEA’s monitoring difficulties have been reported over several years. In a 2024 report, the agency said it had lost the ability to track Iran’s production and inventory of centrifuges and centrifuge components, as well as some materials related to the nuclear fuel cycle. The loss of monitoring and verification activities followed the end of surveillance measures associated with the 2015 nuclear agreement.
The agency’s ability to verify Iran’s nuclear activities became more difficult after military strikes hit Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. In September 2026, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency had received no information from Iran about the condition of declared nuclear materials and facilities and had been unable to access them for on-site verification.
Grossi also said the IAEA had lost continuity of knowledge for more than a year over Iran’s declared stocks of low- and highly enriched uranium. Those stocks included uranium enriched to as much as 60% at facilities damaged in military attacks. The agency’s inability to account for the materials has added to uncertainty over the status of Iran’s nuclear program.
The nuclear issue remains a central point of contention between Tehran and Washington. Iran maintains that it has the right to develop nuclear technology, while the United States says it is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Any agreement to end the ongoing conflict is expected to involve questions about Iran’s nuclear activities, uranium enrichment levels and international safeguards.
The U.S. reward announcement also comes amid efforts to contain the conflict and revive negotiations. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran wanted an agreement to end the war and that the United States was negotiating with Tehran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has likewise said his government continues to pursue a resolution through dialogue.
The Associated Press reported that Qatari mediation had involved proposals intended to create conditions for talks on Iran’s nuclear program. The proposals reportedly included arrangements related to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, frozen Iranian assets and the return of international inspectors to nuclear sites that had been attacked.
At the same time, Trump has continued to argue that U.S. strikes inflicted serious damage on Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking Friday, he said that without U.S. military intervention, Israel would no longer exist, and warned that an Iranian nuclear weapon would, in his account, have led to the destruction of the Middle East.
Earlier in the week, Trump said his administration continued to consider the site known as Pickaxe Mountain in Iran as a potential target. The site is suspected of containing a fortified underground nuclear facility, an allegation Tehran denies.
The reward offer highlights how Washington is seeking information at a moment when diplomatic talks, military pressure and questions about international oversight are unfolding in parallel. The public announcement does not specify what information U.S. officials currently lack or whether any particular person or facility is the focus of the initiative. Instead, it broadly invites information about the people, equipment and sites associated with Iran’s nuclear activities.
The effectiveness of the offer will depend on whether it produces information that can be assessed and acted upon, while the wider dispute remains tied to the prospects for renewed inspections and a negotiated settlement. For now, the United States is presenting the reward as a response to diminished visibility into Iran’s nuclear program, even as both governments signal that dialogue remains possible.
