US offers $20m reward for information on Iran's nuclear programme
- The US is offering up to $20 million for tips on Iran's nuclear programme, CENTCOM said.
- The reward includes possible relocation and covers facilities, equipment and scientific personnel.
- Trump says Iran's nuclear programme was destroyed, but also says Tehran wants a deal.
The United States is offering up to $20 million for information about Iran's nuclear programme, the US military said on Friday, even as President Donald Trump repeated that Tehran's nuclear capabilities have been destroyed.
The reward, announced by US Central Command (CENTCOM) on X, comes through the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme, which was set up in 1984 to pay for tips that protect American lives and interests.
According to the announcement, the money is for information on Iran's nuclear programme, "including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community." The State Department also mentioned possible relocation for people who come forward. It did not say exactly what kind of tip would earn the full $20 million.
The State Department said Iran's failure to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on safeguards has cost the agency "continuity of knowledge" about Iran's production and stock of key parts such as centrifuges.
Why it matters beyond Iran
The announcement lands in the middle of a war that has already reached Nigerian shores in the form of fuel prices. The conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025 and widened into a larger campaign on 28 February 2026, disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and pushed up oil prices. Nigeria imports most of its refined fuel, so any jump in crude prices tends to show up at filling stations and in transport fares.
There is also a question hanging over the reward. Trump has repeatedly said US forces "obliterated" Iran's nuclear programme. "If we didn't hit Iran, you wouldn't have Israel today," he said on Friday night in West Palm Beach, Florida. But the reward offer suggests Washington still believes there is useful information to be gathered about Iran's nuclear work.
The IAEA reported in 2025 that Iran was enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity, a short technical step from the 90 per cent needed for a weapon. After the June 2025 strikes, Trump described the sites as "completely and totally obliterated," but subsequent assessments indicated the programme had been degraded rather than fully eliminated.
Trump also said Iran wants to end the fighting. "We're dealing with them now. They want to make a deal very badly," he said. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that his government was still trying to resolve the crisis through dialogue, and mediators have been working to stop the fighting from restarting.
Trump said earlier in the week that he still had to "take care" of one or two targets, including Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, a site suspected of being nuclear that Tehran denies.
What happens next
Washington says anyone with information should submit a tip through the Rewards for Justice website. Whether the reward produces anything, and whether talks between the sides take hold, will shape what Nigerians pay for fuel in the coming weeks.
