The U.S. State Department has announced a substantial reward of up to $10 million through its Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program for information leading to the identification or location of two Iranian-linked cyber actors: Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar and Fatemeh Sedighian Kashi. The two individuals are accused of being key figures in a malicious cyber unit operating under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC).
The Shahid Shushtari Cyber Group
Shirinkar and Sedighian are directly associated with the Shahid Shushtari cyber group, an IRGC-CEC unit known to operate under several aliases, including Emennet Pasargad and Net Peygard Samavat Company. US officials assert that Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar oversees this group, while Fatemeh Sedighian Kashi is described as a long-time employee who works closely with him in planning and carrying out cyber operations.
The group is accused of executing a wide-ranging campaign of cyberattacks and malicious operations targeting critical infrastructure and private businesses globally, causing financial damage and significant disruption. The targeted sectors and geographical scope include:
* United States and Europe: News, shipping, travel, energy, financial, and telecommunications sectors.
* Middle East: Similar critical infrastructure operations across the region.
Interference in US Elections
A critical component of the charges against the Shahid Shushtari group relates to its alleged involvement in the 2020 US Presidential Election. The Rewards for Justice program stated that actors from this unit ran a multi-step operation aimed at influencing the election, including the use of a false flag persona in cyber-enabled information operations. The group, then operating under the name Emennet Pasargad, along with six of its employees, was previously designated and sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2021 for these activities under an Executive Order targeting interference in US elections.
A Tool of Maximum Pressure
The $10 million reward underscores the high priority the United States places on disrupting and degrading Iran’s offensive cyber capabilities, which Washington views as an increasingly dangerous instrument of state power and regional destabilization. The IRGC-CEC, and its associated units like Shahid Shushtari, is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, placing its operatives under constant legal scrutiny.
By offering a reward, the State Department aims to leverage financial incentives to exploit potential vulnerabilities within the IRGC’s networks, seeking to locate the operatives or gather actionable intelligence about the unit’s ongoing operations and hierarchy. The State Department has urged anyone with information on Shirinkar, Sedighian, or the Shahid Shushtari group to send tips securely through its Tor-based reporting channel. This escalation is part of the broader US “maximum pressure” campaign against the Iranian regime’s foreign policy and security apparatus.
