WASHINGTON — The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Monica Witt, a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and faces espionage charges for allegedly sharing classified national defense information with the Iranian regime.

The bureau announced the reward on May 14, more than a decade after Witt’s defection and six years after her 2019 federal indictment in Washington, D.C.

Witt served in the U.S. Air Force from 1997 to 2008 and later worked as a government contractor until 2010. According to the FBI, she defected to Iran in 2013 after attending two all-expenses-paid conferences in the country that promoted anti-Western propaganda. Prosecutors said she had been warned by the FBI about her activities but assured agents she would not disclose sensitive information, reported The Epoch Times.

The indictment accuses Witt of transmitting classified U.S. national defense information and programs to Iran, endangering American personnel and their families stationed overseas. She is also alleged to have conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to help target her former U.S. government colleagues.

“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,” said Daniel Wierzbicki, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division.

Wierzbicki added that the FBI has not forgotten the case and believes someone may have information on her current whereabouts, particularly “during this critical moment in Iran’s history.”

The reward announcement comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. The two countries have been at war since late February 2026. Iran has recently been accused of attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including the seizure of vessels. President Donald Trump stated on May 14 that his patience with Tehran is running out.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is believed to have benefited from Witt’s defection, according to the FBI.

Anyone with information about Witt is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov, or reach out to local FBI offices or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.The case remains active as part of the FBI’s ongoing counterintelligence efforts.