The FBI has announced a $200,000 reward for information leading to the capture of a former United States Air Force counterintelligence officer who is wanted on federal espionage charges after allegedly defecting to Iran and handing over highly classified national defence secrets.
Monica Witt, now 47, served in the US military from 1997 to 2008 before working as a government defence contractor until 2010. She defected to Iran in 2013, according to the FBI, and was charged with espionage in February 2019 following an investigation into her alleged activities on behalf of the Iranian regime.
During her military service, Witt had access to some of the most sensitive intelligence held by the United States, including the identities of undercover personnel working for US intelligence agencies and details of classified foreign intelligence and counterintelligence programmes. According to her 2019 federal indictment, after defecting she allegedly revealed the existence of a “highly classified intelligence collection program” to Iranian authorities — including the identity of a US intelligence officer whose life was subsequently placed in danger.
The indictment alleged that Witt shared documents and information about US defence “with the intent and reason to believe that the same would be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of Iran.”
The FBI’s Washington Field Office Counterintelligence and Cyber Division Special Agent Daniel Wierzbicki said in a statement cited by The Sun: “Monica Witt allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution more than a decade ago by defecting to Iran and providing the Iranian regime National Defense Information and likely continues to support their nefarious activities. The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this critical moment in Iran’s history, there is someone who knows something about her whereabouts.”
Witt is known to use the aliases Fatemah Zahra and Narges Witt. The FBI is urging anyone with information about her location to call 1-800-CALL-FBI, contact their nearest FBI field office, reach out through the closest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
