By Saanchi Gupta | Updated: March 20, 2026 2:26 PM IST
The United States had announced a grand bounty of USD 10 million on the six senior Iranian leaders, including key figures in the intelligence, military, and political apparatus. This comes amid the recent deaths of two leaders and the rise of a new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Trump administration has announced a reward of USD 10 million (approximately Rs 92 crore) for information leading to the arrest of six senior Iranian leaders on March 15, 2026. Two of the leaders on the list were recently killed in Israeli attacks, but their names have been included to provide a complete picture of Iran's influential power structure. These leaders are considered key pillars of the Islamic Republic's religious, intelligence, and security institutions. Following the death of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli attack in February 2026, his son, Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, was elected the new Supreme Leader in early March.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the Iranian Supreme leader who was killed in the joint strikes by the United States and Israel. The target of the attack was Khamenei's compound and his death created havoc around the world. Later, his son Mojtaba Khamenei was declared as the new supreme leader of the country.
56-year-old Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei has long been considered influential in power and has close ties to security and intelligence agencies. Khamenei has always been controversial, having never held elected office, but was seen as a potential successor. He was accused of electoral fraud in the 2005 presidential election, and protests against his potential leadership were raised in the 2022–23 elections. Sayyed Ali-Asghar (Mir) Hejazi has been a close associate of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He played a role in the 'Purification Committee' after the 1979 revolution and later held senior positions in the Intelligence Ministry and the Supreme Leader's Office. He reportedly survived an Israeli attack in March 2026.
Sayyed Esmail Khatib (64) died in an Israeli and US attack on March 18, 2026. He had been Iran's Intelligence Minister since 2021 and previously held key positions in the judiciary and the Supreme Leader's Security Office. In the 1980s, he participated in operations involving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The US imposed sanctions on him in 2020.
Ali Larijani (68) died in an Israeli and US attack on March 17, 2026. Ali Larijani was considered one of Iran's most experienced political figures, having served as Minister of Culture, Head of State Broadcasting, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. He has assumed a central role in decision-making since January 2026, and especially after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni (64) is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War and has held several police and internal security positions. He has been Interior Minister since August 2024 and was involved in overseeing security operations during the unrest of 2017–18 and 2026.
8 Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi (73) is a former Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guard and currently serves as a senior military adviser to the Supreme Leader. He was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council in 2006 and is also subject to US sanctions.