The FBI Is Offering $200,000 for Information on a Former Air Force Sergeant Who Defected to Iran
Monica Witt served in the U.S. Air Force for over a decade. She had top secret clearance. She knew the true identities of undercover intelligence personnel. And in 2013 she defected to Iran and allegedly handed all of it over.
The FBI is now renewing its push to find her — offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to her capture and prosecution.
Who She Was
Witt, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2019 on espionage charges including transmitting national defense information to Iran. She served in the military from 1997 to 2008 as an Air Force counterintelligence special agent — a role that gave her access to some of the most sensitive information the U.S. government holds. After leaving the Air Force she worked as a U.S. government contractor until 2010, continuing to operate in spaces where classified access was routine.
Both roles gave her knowledge that, in the wrong hands, could get people killed. According to the FBI, that's exactly what allegedly happened.
The indictment charges that Witt provided Iran with sensitive national defense information and conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to help identify and target her former colleagues in the U.S. intelligence community. The people whose identities she allegedly revealed were working undercover. They and their families were put at risk the moment that information left her hands.
The Defection
Witt's path to Iran didn't happen overnight. According to court documents, she began drifting toward Iran's orbit years before her defection. She attended conferences organized by Iranian government-linked entities while still working in the U.S. intelligence community. She made contacts. She built relationships. By 2013 she had made her move — crossing into Iran and beginning what the FBI describes as an active working relationship with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The IRGC is not a conventional military organization. It is responsible for intelligence collection, unconventional warfare, and the funding and support of terrorist organizations that have targeted Americans for decades. Witt allegedly provided them with the kind of operational intelligence — real names, cover identities, locations, relationships — that the IRGC could use to dismantle U.S. intelligence networks and put individual officers and their families in danger.
"Witt allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S. personnel and their families stationed abroad," the FBI said.
Why Now
The FBI has been hunting Witt since her defection more than a decade ago. The renewed push — complete with a $200,000 reward — is deliberate in its timing. The U.S. is currently engaged in active military conflict with Iran following strikes launched in February 2026. Iran is under significant pressure. The Iranian government's internal stability is shakier than it has been in years. And when regimes come under pressure, people talk.
"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," said Special Agent Daniel Wierzbicki.
The bureau is betting that someone inside Iran — or someone who has had contact with the Iranian government — knows where Witt is. Two hundred thousand dollars is a significant incentive to make that call.
What She Looks Like
Witt is described as a white woman, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with brown hair and brown eyes. She goes by the aliases Fatemah Zahra and Narges Witt. She would be 47 years old today.
Anyone with information can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov. The reward is $200,000. The case has been open for more than a decade. The FBI is still waiting.
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