The Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of former U.S. counterintelligence specialist Monica Witt, who is accused of spying for Iran after defecting more than a decade ago.
According to the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Witt was indicted in 2019 on espionage-related charges, including allegedly transmitting classified national defense information to the Iranian government.
Witt served as an active-duty intelligence specialist and special agent with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations between 1997 and 2008, before later working as a government contractor until 2010. Authorities say her positions granted her access to highly sensitive SECRET and TOP SECRET intelligence, including the identities of undercover U.S. intelligence personnel.
The FBI alleges that Witt defected to Iran in 2013 and subsequently assisted the Iranian government by providing information that endangered American intelligence operations and personnel stationed abroad. Investigators also claim she conducted research for the Iranian regime aimed at helping target former U.S. colleagues.
In its statement, the FBI said Witt’s actions benefited Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Washington designates as a terrorist organization. The bureau described the case as a continuing national security concern.
“Monica Witt allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution," said Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division.
The FBI believes Witt may still be in Iran and noted that she is fluent in Farsi and may use aliases including “Fatemah Zahra" and “Narges Witt."