US Offers Up to $20 Million for Information on Iran's Nuclear Programme
The United States has announced a reward of up to $20 million for information about Iran's nuclear programme, according to BBC News. The State Department's Rewards for Justice programme is also offering to potentially relocate the person who provides the information.
The State Department said the reward covers information about facilities, equipment and associated personnel connected to the programme. Rewards for Justice publishes its notice in Persian as well as English, and says it accepts tips through several platforms in numerous languages. Tipsters are asked to state their information succinctly, give their name, location and preferred language, and upload any supporting photographs, videos or documents, according to the programme's website.
Separately, U.S. Central Command said a new body, Task Force Iron Gate, would operate from Tampa, Florida, and work with other U.S. government agencies. Its aim, the command said, is to restrict Iran's movement of weapons and sanctioned material across its borders. Sanctions are trade restrictions imposed by governments. The task force will also focus on dual-use items, which are goods that can serve both civilian and military purposes, and on what the command described as illegal revenue streams.
Central Command also estimates that its naval blockade of Iran's ports, a measure in which warships stop ships from entering or leaving a country's ports, has prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil.
On the nuclear side, the State Department said Iran's lack of compliance with safeguards obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the body that monitors nuclear material, led to the loss of "continuity of knowledge" on Iran's production and inventory of centrifuges, the machines used to enrich uranium. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is peaceful and that it has no intention of developing a nuclear weapon.
Donald Trump said the United States might need to go after Pickaxe Mountain, an underground site linked to Iran's nuclear programme. He said such action would be "not a big deal" and could be carried out in "one hour".
Diplomacy is also under way. Donald Trump said Iran wants to make a deal to end the eight-month conflict with the United States, adding, "They want to make a deal very badly." Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said the two sides were reviewing ideas and proposals presented by mediators, and expressed hope for a deal. Iranian negotiators have discussed a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping route at the centre of the conflict, within two days once the United States met its seven conditions.
A preliminary agreement reached in June to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz collapsed within weeks. Iranian attacks on shipping resumed, and the United States reinstated its blockade.
