The U.S. Offers Up to $15 Million Reward for Information on Hossein Hatefi Ardakani

The U.S. State Department's "Rewards for Justice" program has announced a reward of up to $15 million for individuals who provide information about Hossein Hatefi Ardakani and his activities. The official Persian-language account of "Rewards for Justice," part of the U.S. State Department, published a photo of Hossein Hatefi Ardakani on Tuesday, February 22, stating that this "Iranian businessman" has collaborated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "to acquire and supply the complex technology needed by the IRGC" for "the production of weapons and their sale to this organization." According to the report, "the sale of these military equipment has enabled the IRGC to secure the financial resources it needs for international terrorist activities." The "Rewards for Justice" program emphasized: "If you have information about Hossein Hatefi Ardakani and his network of companies, please send it to us via Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, or through the Tor browser at the address below; you may be eligible for a reward." The U.S. Treasury Department had previously sanctioned Hossein Hatefi Ardakani in connection with "the procurement of components for the Islamic Republic's drones." According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, who resides in Iran, has played a role in "procurement of American and foreign components worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for the IRGC" and "supervises the supply chain of drone components in the Middle East and East Asia." Hatefi Ardakani directly contracted with the IRGC's Aerospace Force and the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization through his company in Iran, coordinating the purchase of defense components through companies in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and other countries. He is the chairman of the board of the limited liability company "Kavan Electronic Behrad" in Iran, which has supplied servomotors and other items usable in drones worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for the IRGC.