The FBI has renewed its pursuit of former US Air Force counterintelligence specialist Monica Witt, announcing a $200,000 reward for information leading to her arrest and conviction as officials warn the alleged defector may still be assisting Iran's intelligence apparatus more than a decade after leaving the United States.
The bureau's Washington Field Office confirmed Thursday that Witt, a former intelligence operative accused of supplying classified national defense information to Tehran, is believed to still be living in Iran. The reward announcement marks one of the most visible public efforts in years to revive attention around a case American officials have long described as a significant breach of US counterintelligence operations.
Federal prosecutors first charged Witt in 2019 with espionage-related offenses after alleging she defected to Iran in 2013 following years of work inside some of the most sensitive areas of US military intelligence.
According to FBI records and court filings, Monica Elfriede Witt served on active duty in the US Air Force from 1997 through 2008 as an intelligence specialist before continuing as a defense contractor and special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations until 2010.
Her work reportedly granted her access to classified intelligence programs, including the identities of covert US personnel operating under cover overseas. Prosecutors have argued that such information represented some of the government's most sensitive national-security material.
The FBI alleges Witt later crossed into Iran and began cooperating directly with Iranian authorities.
In the indictment unsealed in Washington, prosecutors claimed Witt provided "National Defense Information" to Iran and conducted online research designed to help Iranian intelligence officials identify, locate and potentially target former American colleagues and their families.
Officials say the damage extended beyond leaked documents.
"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," Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, said in a statement accompanying the new reward notice.
The bureau has publicly tied Witt's alleged activities to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, the powerful military and intelligence organization that Washington has accused for years of directing regional covert operations and supporting militant groups hostile to American interests.
The FBI's updated profile describes Witt as approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and about 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Investigators say she speaks Farsi and is "residing in Iran at this time."
Federal notices have also listed potential aliases associated with Witt, including "Fatemah Zahra" and "Narges Witt," though some FBI postings note no confirmed aliases.
The renewed push highlights the practical limitations facing US law enforcement once suspects flee to countries without extradition agreements. Iran and the United States do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, and Tehran has historically refused to cooperate in politically sensitive American criminal cases involving intelligence matters.
That reality has left Witt beyond the direct reach of US authorities despite years on the FBI's wanted list.
Still, the bureau appears determined to keep the case active publicly, particularly as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain elevated over regional conflict, cyber operations and nuclear negotiations.
"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," Wierzbicki said. "The FBI wants to hear from you so you can help us apprehend Witt and bring her to justice."
The timing of the announcement also reflects growing concern inside the US intelligence community over insider threats and defections involving personnel with access to highly compartmentalized programs. Former intelligence officers who cross over to adversarial governments remain relatively rare, but when they do, officials often view the consequences as exceptionally damaging because of their familiarity with operational methods, surveillance practices and covert identities.
Witt's alleged defection has occupied a particularly sensitive place within American counterintelligence circles because prosecutors say she not only possessed classified operational knowledge, but also actively helped Iran exploit it.
The 2019 federal indictment accused her of conspiring to reveal classified information and aiding efforts to compromise US intelligence assets. At the time, prosecutors also charged several alleged Iranian cyber operatives connected to campaigns targeting former American intelligence officials.
