FBI offers $200K for ex-US Air Force specialist accused of spying for Iran
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the capture and prosecution of Monica Elfriede Witt, a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and was charged with espionage.
- Witt was indicted in 2019 for transmitting classified national defense information to Iran and remains at large, with the FBI emphasizing her continued support for Iranian activities.
- Witt served in the Air Force from 1997 to 2008, was trained in Farsi, and deployed on classified missions; she defected after attending two Iran-based conferences promoting anti-Western propaganda.
- Despite FBI warnings before her defection, Witt allegedly provided sensitive information that endangered U.S. personnel and conducted research to help Iran target her former U.S. government colleagues.
- The FBI's renewed attention to Witt's case comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have been in conflict since February 28.