Estados Unidos ofreció una recompensa de hasta 10 millones de dólares por información sobre el paradero del nuevo líder supremo iraní Mojtaba Khamenei, en el marco de una iniciativa del programa Recompensas por la Justicia del Departamento de Estado.

La solicitud incluye datos sobre “líderes terroristas iraníes”, con la posibilidad de reubicación para quienes aporten información relevante.

El Departamento de Estado sostiene que estos individuos “comandan y dirigen diversos elementos del Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica de Irán (CGRI), que planifica, organiza y ejecuta actos terroristas en todo el mundo”.

Entre los funcionarios sobre los que Estados Unidos busca información figuran el ministro de Inteligencia, Esmail Khatib; el jefe adjunto del Estado Mayor, Ali Asghar Hejazi; el general de división Yahya Rahim Safavi; el general de brigada Eskandar Momeni; y el secretario del Consejo Supremo, Ali Larijani.

En medio del ofrecimiento millonario por parte de la administración del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, Israel asegura que está atacando puestos de control de seguridad de la Basij y del Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica (IRGC) en Teherán, y sostiene que agentes de inteligencia y observadores colaboran en el terreno.

Israel y Estados Unidos buscan desestabilizar el sistema y el régimen iraní. Analistas militares señalan que resulta casi imposible derrocar por completo un sistema de gobierno únicamente mediante ataques aéreos, y advierten sobre la ampliación del alcance de la operación.

Trump confirmó la muerte del padre de Mojtaba Khamenei, el ex líder supremo iraní Ali Khamenei, mediante un comunicado difundido en Truth Social el pasado 28 de febrero, día el ataque conjunto de Estados Unidos e Israel en Teherán.

En su mensaje, el presidente estadounidense afirmó que la muerte de Khamenei representó “justicia para el pueblo de Irán” y para “todos los grandes estadounidenses y personas de muchos países en el mundo que han sido asesinados o mutilados por Khamenei y su banda de matones sedientos de sangre”. Trump subrayó que la eliminación del líder del régimen constituyó “la mayor oportunidad para que el pueblo iraní recupere su país”.

Estados Unidos e Israel atacaron más de 15.000 objetivos desde el inicio de la guerra con Irán a finales del mes pasado, según indicó este viernes el jefe del Pentágono, Pete Hegseth.

“Entre nuestra fuerza aérea y la de los israelíes, se han atacado más de 15.000 objetivos enemigos. Eso es bastante más de 1.000 al día”, declaró Hegseth en conferencia de prensa.

El funcionario también afirmó Mojtaba Khamenei está “herido y probablemente desfigurado”. “Sabemos que el nuevo supuesto -y no tan supremo- líder está herido y probablemente desfigurado”, puntualizó Hegseth.

En ese sentido, añadió que Khamenei “carece de legitimidad” y hace referencia a la unidad tras “asesinar a decenas de miles de manifestantes”, en alusión a las protestas que comenzaron a finales del año pasado y continuaron hasta el comienzo de la guerra de Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán, el 28 de febrero.

“Irán tiene cámaras y grabadoras ¿por qué emite un comunicado escrito? Creo que sabemos por qué”, sostuvo Hegseth, quien añadió que Khamenei siente “miedo” y que gran parte de su familia, incluido su padre y anterior líder supremo, ha muerto en los ataques.

En una entrevista con Fox News, Donald Trump fue consultado el jueves sobre la situación de Mojtaba tras su reciente designación como líder supremo de Irán. El presidente estadounidense respondió haciendo hincapié en la salud del líder supremo del régimen: “Creo que está dañado, pero probablemente está vivo de alguna forma”.

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Vice President JD Vance hinted California may be targeted next with major fraud investigations and revealed that fraud discovered in the Minneapolis area has «probably been $19 billion at least» since the administration began investigating in the Twin Cities.  

In January, Vance announced an interagency task force within the Department of Justice that specifically targets fraud, and reports suggest the vice president will soon lead a new task force established through a Trump executive order. 

«We know there’s a lot of fraud in California, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of exactly what it looks like and what we’ve done in the Trump administration,» Vance said in response to a question by Fox News Digital. 

He took questions after a speech Friday afternoon at the Power House event center that focused on the economy, public safety and election integrity. 

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«And the president has really empowered us to do this, is to take the first national look at the way the American people have been defrauded over many, many years,» Vance added. 

In January, President Donald Trump was critical of California, announcing the «fraud investigation of California has begun» and saying the state was «more corrupt than Minnesota.»

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom defended the Golden State’s fraud protection in February, saying that California’s Franchise Tax Board has blocked billions in fraud in recent years.

«In the actual world where adults govern, Gavin Newsom has been cleaning house,» a spokesperson for Newsom told Fox News Digital. «Since taking office, he’s blocked over $125 billion in fraud, arrested criminal parasites leaching off of taxpayers and protected taxpayers from the exact kind of scam artists Trump celebrates, excuses and pardons.

«Gavin Newsom runs a state,» the spokesperson added. «Donald Trump runs his mouth. Again and again, we’ve shown that the programs they are attempting to call out are programs the federal government is administering, not the state. We suggest they get their house in order.»

Vance on Friday pointed to fraud that has occurred in Minnesota, telling Fox News Digital and reporters that taxpayer dollars are footing the bill for the illegal misuse of funds.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defended the state’s safeguards and said California’s tax agency has blocked billions of dollars in fraud in recent years. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

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«You asked about Minnesota, [and] we think that there’s probably been $19 billion at least to fraud just committed in Minneapolis in the surrounding areas,» Vance explained. «Let me give you an example of this because it’s not just the American people being defrauded. It’s not just your tax dollars that are being stolen out of your wallet and given to fraudsters.

«It’s the fact that the services we need to deliver to needy people are not getting delivered because they’re going to fraudsters.»

Federal investigators in Minnesota launched a probe in 2022 into the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which prosecutors later identified as a key player in what became one of the largest COVID-19 relief fraud cases uncovered.

Homeland Security Investigations agents conduct a fraud investigation in Minneapolis after the release of a video over the weekend on alleged daycare fraud.  (Department of Homeland Security)

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As the investigation progressed, authorities said they uncovered roughly $250 million in fraudulent claims, with 78 people ultimately charged in the alleged scheme.

Prosecutors have also suggested the broader fraud linked to related programs could total as much as $9 billion.

Independent journalist Nick Shirley took to the streets of Minneapolis in late December 2025 and discovered one organization that claimed to be a type of daycare, where the word «learning» was misspelled on the front door of the business. 

Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was found to be at the center of an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the state. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News)

Vance poked fun at the organization, which has since shut its doors, during his response to Fox News Digital reporter’s question Friday.

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«When you have a Somali fraudster come into the United States illegally and then set up a school to collect tax dollars, and the name of the school is the Quality Learning Center, but when they put the sign up, they take the ‘n’ out. So, it says ‘Quality Learing Center,’» Vance explained.

«I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to send my kids to a school where they can’t spell ‘learn.’ That group was getting millions of dollars from the American taxpayer.»

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Vice President JD Vance traveled to North Carolina and hosted an event Friday to tout the economy, advocate for Republicans to win elections in the Tar Heel State, and touch on the situation in Iran.  

Vance was also joined by former RNC chairman and GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley and Small Business Association Administrator Kelly Loeffler at a local event space.

«In just a very brief time, we’ve seen new home purchases rise to their highest level in five years,» Vance said. «Since the last time Donald Trump was president, we’ve seen the cost of rents drop for six months in a row.» 

«We’ve seen the average tax refund that’s going to come to the people of North Carolina, about $3,700 per family,» Vance added. «And we see interest rates that are the lowest they’ve been since the last time that Donald J. Trump was president.»

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Vance was introduced by Loeffler, the former Georgia senator whom Trump appointed to lead small business advocacy as head of the SBA last February. 

«Together, we’re cleaning up massive, wasteful spending and the abuse of government programs,» Loeffler told the audience. «And you’ve seen that the fraud that sent your hard-earned tax dollars overseas and the Democrats open borders, defund the police agendas that invited violent crime into what should be safe communities, taking the lives of innocent victims like arenas.»

Vance addressed the situation in Iran, both to the crowd and in response to a question posed by an AP reporter. The vice president pointed to nuclear capability in Iran as the primary reason for the U.S. engagement.

An explosion after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Monday. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

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«You all know that right now, we are engaged in a military operation to ensure, as the president has said repeatedly, that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,» Vance said. «That is a simple, simple principle and standard. Frankly, every president. Has taken affirmative steps to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.»

When asked what he advised the president before strikes began in Iran, Vance said he wasn’t giving out information from classified briefings in the situation room.

«I’m not going to show up here and in front of God and everybody else, tell you exactly what I said in that classified room, partially because I don’t want to go to prison, and partially because I think it’s important for the President of the United States to be able to talk to his advisers without those advisers running their mouth to the American media,» Vance explained.

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Vance in The Situation Room. (The White House via X)

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Vance also strongly advocated for Whatley’s campaign for senate, slamming his Democrat opponent and pushing for the GOP candidate in what will be a contentious and competitive election in November. 

Whatley won the GOP primary in North Carolina to fill retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat, and now faces former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in the general election. 

«Roy Cooper is one of these people who clearly cares way more for foreign countries than he does the United States of America,» Vance said. «You see the passion in his voice when he talks about protecting illegal aliens. You’ll never hear that passion when he’s talking about the people in this room.»

Michael Whatley is the GOP candidate for U.S. senate in North Carolina.  (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

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«You hear the passion in his voice when he talks about sending hundreds of billions of dollars to the war in Ukraine,» the vice president added. 

A spokesperson for Cooper responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, blasting Whatley and denying claims he protects criminals. 

«Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough on crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor,» the spokesperson told Fox. «DC insider and Big Oil lobbyist Michael Whatley is desperate to distract from his support for hundreds of millions in cuts to local law enforcement and public safety efforts that keep North Carolinians safe.»

Vice President JD Vance was in North Carolina on Friday. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Vance concluded the event after answering a question from Fox News Digital regarding progress made by a fraud task force that was launched in January under the Department of Justice and individual states he was planning to target, in addition to Minnesota.

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«We know there’s a lot of fraud in California, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of exactly what it looks like and what we’ve done in the Trump administration,» Vance said. «And the president has really empowered us to do this, is to take the first national look at the way the American people have been defrauded over many, many years.»

The vice president revealed that there was «at least» $19 billion in fraud uncovered in Minneapolis and the surrounding area under the Trump administration. 

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston