The FBI has announced a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of former US counterintelligence agent Monica Witt on charges of allegedly spying for Iran.
The move underscores a renewed focus on a long-standing threat to a foreign rival. U.S. officials say Witt is still at large and are urging the public to provide tips that could help capture and prosecute him.
A former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist defected to Iran in 2013 and provided national defense information, according to a 2019 federal indictment.
“Monica Witt allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution by defecting to Iran more than a decade ago and providing national defense information to the Iranian regime and possibly continues to support their nefarious activities,” said Daniel Wierzbicki, Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence and Cyber ​​Division of the FBI Washington Field Office.
“The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this critical moment in Iran’s history, there is someone who knows something about his whereabouts,” Wierzbicki said.
The FBI listed Witt as E1, a native of Paso, Texas, who weighed 120 pounds and stood 5 feet 6 inches tall. It is pertinent to note that she does not have any other surname, is known to speak Persian, and is currently living in Iran.
Regarding her professional background, she was a former US Air Force intelligence specialist and a special agent for the Office of Special Investigations, serving from 1997 to 2008.
Following his military service, he worked as a US government contractor until 2010. His roles gave him access to classified and top-secret data, including the identities of undercover US intelligence personnel. She moved to Iran in 2013 and shared classified information with Tehran, putting American programs and personnel at risk.
The FBI says its information could specifically assist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in intelligence gathering, unconventional warfare, and support of terrorist organizations targeting Americans.
The case of Monica Witt is part of a larger trend of American citizens raising significant national security concerns through illegal foreign collaboration, such as the California mayor who admitted acting as an unauthorized agent for the Chinese government.
Abuzar Rahmati, a naturalized US citizen and Federal Aviation Authority contractor, pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of the Iranian government in the US without prior notification to the Attorney General.
Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Dostdar, a dual American-Iranian citizen, pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of Iran.
