US dangles $20M and a new life for tips on Iran's nuclear program

Washington wants Iran's nuclear secrets, and it's willing to pay eight figures for them. The State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced Friday it will hand over up to $20 million — plus possible relocation — for tips on Iran's nuclear program, according to a statement from the program.

The ask is broad: facilities, equipment and personnel all fall inside the offer. Informants can reach RFJ through Signal, Telegram and Tor Browser, and the program accepts tips in several languages. Sources stay strictly confidential, and relocation for a tipster and their family is weighed case by case.

Rewards for Justice has been buying information since 1984, and it says it has paid out more than $250 million to over 125 people whose tips helped protect US national security. Current bounties across its portfolio run from under $1 million to as much as $25 million, covering terrorism, foreign election interference, malicious cyber activity and North Korea's financial machinery.

The nuclear offer landed the same day the US and Canada hit eight digital asset service providers with sanctions, accusing the firms of helping Tehran dodge sanctions and fund terrorism through crypto. The move severs those companies from the dollar-based financial system, freezes any assets they hold in the US and bars transactions with American people or entities.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn't mince words about the crackdown. “Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime's financial channels anywhere in the world,” he said in the announcement.

Two fronts, one target: Washington is squeezing Iran's money pipelines while dangling cash for anyone inside the program willing to talk.