US to Reward Tips on Illicit Cargos in the Middle East

Ships from partner nations of Combined Task Force North participate in a photo exercise during a 60-nation International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express 2022 (IMX/CE22), in the the Arabian Gulf, Middle East, in this photo taken on February 9, 2022 and released by the US Navy on February 10, 2022, US. (Naval Forces Central Command/2nd Class Helen Brown/Handout via Reuters)
Ships from partner nations of Combined Task Force North participate in a photo exercise during a 60-nation International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express 2022 (IMX/CE22), in the the Arabian Gulf, Middle East, in this photo taken on February 9, 2022 and released by the US Navy on February 10, 2022, US. (Naval Forces Central Command/2nd Class Helen Brown/Handout via Reuters)
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US to Reward Tips on Illicit Cargos in the Middle East

Ships from partner nations of Combined Task Force North participate in a photo exercise during a 60-nation International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express 2022 (IMX/CE22), in the the Arabian Gulf, Middle East, in this photo taken on February 9, 2022 and released by the US Navy on February 10, 2022, US. (Naval Forces Central Command/2nd Class Helen Brown/Handout via Reuters)
Ships from partner nations of Combined Task Force North participate in a photo exercise during a 60-nation International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express 2022 (IMX/CE22), in the the Arabian Gulf, Middle East, in this photo taken on February 9, 2022 and released by the US Navy on February 10, 2022, US. (Naval Forces Central Command/2nd Class Helen Brown/Handout via Reuters)

The US Navy will for the first time reward individuals for providing information that leads to the seizure of illicit cargos such as illegal weapons or narcotics in waters across the Middle East, it said on Tuesday.

The US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), which is headquartered in Bahrain and covers strategic waterways such the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz, said the rewards could be in cash or items such as boats.

"NAVCENT could potentially reward a maximum $100,000 payout for information or non-lethal assistance that supports counterterrorism operations or leads US naval forces to successfully seize illicit cargo such as illegal weapons or narcotics," it said in a statement on its website.

"Rewards can also be non-monetary and include items like boats, vehicles, food or equipment," it said.

The statement gave a phone number in Bahrain where tips can be reported, in addition to the website dedicated to the US Department of Defense's rewards program.

The statement did not mention a specific country as being a target of the reward program, but its implementation could complicate the shipments of Iranian weapons to Tehran's allies in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.



Trump Unveils First $5 Million 'Gold Card' Visa

US President Donald Trump holds a card as he speaks to reporters while in flight on board Air Force One, en route to Miami, Florida on April 3, 2025. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)
US President Donald Trump holds a card as he speaks to reporters while in flight on board Air Force One, en route to Miami, Florida on April 3, 2025. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)
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Trump Unveils First $5 Million 'Gold Card' Visa

US President Donald Trump holds a card as he speaks to reporters while in flight on board Air Force One, en route to Miami, Florida on April 3, 2025. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)
US President Donald Trump holds a card as he speaks to reporters while in flight on board Air Force One, en route to Miami, Florida on April 3, 2025. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

US President Donald Trump unveiled the first "gold card", a residency permit sold for $5 million each, aboard Air Force One on Thursday.

Holding a prototype that bore his face and an inscription "The Trump Card", the Republican president told reporters that the special visa would probably be available "in less than two weeks".

"I'm the first buyer," AFP quoted him as saying. "Pretty exciting, huh?"

Trump previously said that sales of the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.

The billionaire former real estate tycoon, who has made the deportation of millions of undocumented migrants a priority for his second term, said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship.

He said in February that his administration hoped to sell "maybe a million" of the cards and did not rule out that Russian oligarchs may be eligible.