Iran Slams ‘Repugnant’ US $20 Million Reward
Iran has condemned a US $20 million reward for information about its nuclear programme, calling the offer “repugnant and regrettable”. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Security Council to denounce the reward, which Washington announced last week.
Araghchi wrote to the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council and the IAEA director general, asking all three to condemn the announcement “explicitly and unequivocally”. He repeated Iran’s insistence that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Last Friday, the US military said up to $20 million and “possible relocation” were available for information about the programme’s “facilities, equipment, and associated personnel”.
US $20 million reward: what Tehran wants
Tehran wants a formal condemnation from the bodies that oversee nuclear rules and global security. The IAEA is the UN agency that monitors nuclear programmes, and the Security Council is the body that can impose sanctions.
Iran’s argument is that offering money and relocation for details of its nuclear sites amounts to an attempt to recruit informants inside a sovereign state. Washington is likely to present it differently, as a tool to gather information about a programme it says was aimed at building a weapon. The two sides have made the same arguments in different forms for years, but the reward puts a price on them.
The row also shows how far apart the two sides remain on the basic facts. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Iran’s nuclear programme was “effectively obliterated” by brief US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025. Trump has since said the war with Iran is effectively over, even as the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues. If that were so, a $20 million reward for information about the same programme would seem unnecessary.
Inspectors still shut out of bombed sites
Since the June 2025 war, Iran has blocked IAEA inspectors from visiting the bombed facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. That is the practical core of the dispute. Without access, the agency cannot verify what was damaged, what was moved, or what remains.
War then broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28, when US-Israeli strikes assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During the war’s most intense phase, US-Israeli strikes hit Iranian nuclear sites again, but the scale of the damage remains unclear. The uncertainty is exactly what makes the reward both a pressure tool and a sign of how little Washington knows for certain.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war have been led by Qatar and Pakistan. That gives the story a direct link to this country. Pakistan has been involved in talks to negotiate an end to the fighting, and any deal would shape the region’s security for years. Feature Pakistan has followed the conflict closely, including Iran’s threats against US bases in Europe if it is attacked again, and Tehran’s seven demands for nuclear talks.
Tehran has insisted that Washington accept a raft of demands, including unfreezing assets and lifting sanctions, in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy conduit it has blockaded since the start of the conflict. The strait carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil, and its closure has already pushed up shipping costs and oil prices.
Araghchi has previously said that talks over Iran’s nuclear programme would come at a later stage. The reward suggests Washington is not waiting. It also suggests the administration believes there are people inside Iran’s nuclear establishment willing to talk, for money and a new life elsewhere.
A dispute with a long history
Iran’s nuclear programme has been at the centre of tensions for years. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from an agreement struck under former President Barack Obama that aimed to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.
That withdrawal set the pattern for everything since: sanctions, pressure, and rounds of talks that have never fully resolved the question of what Iran’s programme is for.
The question now is whether the IAEA or the Security Council will respond at all. A public rebuke looks unlikely, but Araghchi’s letter puts the issue on the record, and it gives Iran something to point to in any future talks.
What happens next
The reward will stay open, and the IAEA’s lack of access to Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan will remain the central unanswered question. Talks on the nuclear programme itself are still described as a later stage, behind the immediate task of ending the war.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US $20 million reward?
The US military said last Friday that up to $20 million and “possible relocation” were available for information about Iran’s nuclear programme, covering its facilities, equipment and associated personnel.
How did Iran respond?
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the offer “repugnant and regrettable” and wrote to the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council and the IAEA director general, asking them to condemn it explicitly and unequivocally.
Why can’t the IAEA verify Iran’s nuclear sites?
Since the 12-day war in June 2025, Iran has blocked IAEA inspectors from visiting the bombed facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, so the agency cannot verify the damage or what remains.
What is Pakistan’s role?
Diplomatic efforts to end the war between Iran and the United States have been led by Qatar and Pakistan, which are involved in talks to negotiate an end to the fighting.
When did the US withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal?
In 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the agreement struck under former President Barack Obama that aimed to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.
