The Federal Bureau of Investigation has pushed the manhunt for a former U.S. servicemember who allegedly took part in espionage activities on behalf of the Iranian regime into third gear with the latest development this week. The former Air Force counterintelligence specialist defected to Iran in 2013, then was indicted in 2019.
In hopes of capturing Monica Witt, the FBI has sweetened the deal with a hefty reward – $200,000:
The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the capture of former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist Monica Elfriede Witt, who defected to Iran in 2013. https://t.co/zM7biHHRuG
— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) May 15, 2026
The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the capture and prosecution of former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist Monica Elfriede Witt, who defected to Iran in 2013 and is accused of providing national defense information to the Iranian government.
Monica Elfriede Witt, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2019 on espionage-related charges and remains at large.
SEE: Sen. John Kennedy Sums Up the Iranian Regime’s Current Predicament
My colleague Streiff wrote at the time about this curious case, in a follow up to RedState’s initial story on Witt’s indictment. His expertise is worth reading at length here:
Witt was not a superspy. Her intelligence experience was operating on an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. She served in an undefined capacity while serving in counterintelligence. After leaving the Air Force she went to work for Booz Allen Hamilton, former employer of Edward Snowden, on Army counterintelligence projects and for Chenega Federal Systems on Middle East matters. During this time she “read on” to a special access program (SAP) targeting Iran. Her major offense seems to be trying to betray former colleagues by identifying them to Iranian intelligence though I’m not downplaying divulging the existence of the SAP.
And as Streiff also wrote, the timing of the indictment – five years later – was rather mysterious:
She went missing in 2014 and until this week no one seemed to care about her.
The question becomes why was she indicted now. The FBI says this is the culmination of “result of years of investigative work” and that implies that the FBI has known about her activities since the Obama administration…if not from the time she disappeared.
READ MORE:The Espionage Indictment of Monica Witt Asks More Questions Than It Answers
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It’s unknown on this too why the FBI put out the reward now. It’s possible they’re hoping to inspire someone in Iran to blow the whistle on her as the U.S. military’s mission against Iran ensues, The National News Desk story linked above implied.
Part of the FBI’s release was the Most Wanted poster with several images of Witt, including her official Air Force photo. It also included what might be the most recent image of Witt from 2013:
Hopefully, she can be brought to justice with this new enticement of American dollars. You can view the full Most Wanted information for Witt at the FBI’s homepage.
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