Who are Iran’s new leaders? A look at 6 the US placed a bounty on – 2 of whom are already dead

The Conversation
by Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Vice Provost and Dean of College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, Missouri University of Science and Technology
March 19, 2026
4 min read

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US placed bounties on six Iranian leaders, two of whom are already dead.

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The Trump administration announced a $10 million reward on March 15, 2026, for information leading to the capture of six senior Iranian figures, including Iran's new Supreme Leader Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, who was selected in early March. Two of the targeted figures—Seyyed Esmail Khatib and Ali Larijani—have already been killed by Israeli strikes on March 18 and March 17 respectively. The six men represent Iran's core power structure across clerical authority, intelligence, military, and security institutions; Khatib served as minister of intelligence since 2021, while Larijani held multiple senior positions including chief nuclear negotiator and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, assumed the supreme leader role following his father Ali Khamenei's death in a U.S.-Israeli strike in February 2026, despite never holding elected office and facing public opposition. The targeting reflects a coordinated effort to destabilize Iran's leadership hierarchy during a period of significant institutional turmoil.

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