US State Department Offers $10M Bounty for Iranian Operative Amir Yaryab

The US State Department has placed a $10 million reward on information that leads to the identification or location of Amir Yaryab, a senior official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Yaryab is believed to oversee cyber units responsible for attacks on American critical infrastructure. This bounty, issued through the Rewards for Justice program, positions Yaryab as one of the most sought-after cyber operatives by US authorities.

Yaryab leads the IRGC Cyber-Electronic Command’s Cyber Operations Command, which is at the helm of a network of state-sponsored hacking groups linked to various attacks on defense systems, energy grids, financial networks, and telecommunications across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The groups operating under Yaryab’s command include Shahid Hemmat and Shahid Shushtari, two units within the IRGC-CEC structure, as well as affiliated cyber entities like CyberAv3ngers and Dadeh Afzar Arman (DAA), both implicated in numerous cyber operations targeting critical sectors.

CyberAv3ngers has particularly attracted attention from US cybersecurity agencies due to its operations against industrial control systems and critical infrastructure. The bounty is framed under authorities aimed at countering foreign-directed cyber operations considered malicious under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

This bounty is part of a broader trend observed in 2026, where multiple $10 million rewards have been issued for various IRGC leaders connected to cyber threats. Similar announcements targeting senior IRGC figures associated with cyber operations were made in March and August of this year.

The Rewards for Justice program has evolved significantly from its original focus on counterterrorism and drug trafficking, now encompassing cybersecurity as a critical aspect of US national security strategy. The timing of these bounties coincides with heightened US-Iran tensions that extend beyond cyber issues, including nuclear negotiations and regional conflicts.

The bounty approach serves multiple purposes for the US government. It applies pressure on commanders who might otherwise operate anonymously, incentivizes insiders or defectors to share information, and publicly signals the seriousness with which the US views these cyber operations.