US Dept of State offers $15 million reward for info on ‘IRGC’s man’ in Yemen
The US Department of State is offering a $15 million
reward for information leading to Abdul Reza Shahlai, an Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corp (IRGC) official in Yemen, or information on his financial
activities, networks and associates in Yemen and the region, Rewards for
Justice said in a tweet Friday.
The State Department’s Reward for Justice account
also shared a recent photo of Shahlai, who is accused of terrorism crimes,
including smuggling sophisticated weapons to the Iranian backed Houthi militia
in Yemen.
In a special briefing on Friday, US Special
Representative for Iran Brian Hook revealed Shahlai is wanted for several
reasons, including his “long history” of attacks on Americans and US allies, as
well as his involvement in the 2011 assassination attempt on the now Saudi
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. Al-Jubeir was the Saudi
ambassador at the time.
“In 2011, Shalai funded and directed a plot to
assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States,” said Hook.
The reward announcement came a few days after the US
Navy seized a shipment of Iranian weapons and missile parts in the Arabian Sea
on November 25. The shipment was headed to Houthis in Yemen, Hook said.
