Air Force intel vet allegedly spiraled into Iran’s terror underworld: Timeline of deceit, hunt for spy suspect

The FBI announced connected Thursday that it is offering $200,000 for accusation that leads to the apprehension and prosecution of a erstwhile active-duty U.S. Air Force quality specializer and peculiar cause for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations who is accused of espionage.

Monica Witt, 47, besides known to usage the aliases Fatemah Zarah and Narges Witt, was federally indicted successful Washington, D.C. successful 2018 and charged with espionage. She is accused of defecting to Iran and turning implicit classified accusation to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Here's what we cognize astir Witt's alleged descent from American warfighter to suspected Iranian asset.

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Split of Monica Witt, who is wanted by the FBI for sharing delicate accusation with Iran. (FBI)

U.S. subject service

Witt was calved successful El Paso, Texas, and enlisted successful the Air Force successful 1997, soon aft her 18th birthday. According to the New York Times, she was assigned to an RC-135 reconnaissance airplane crew.

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Her 2018 indictment says she was assigned to the U.S. Defense Language Institute successful Monterey, California, betwixt 1998 and 1999, wherever she learned Persian Farsi.

From May 1999 to November 2003, Witt was deployed to "several overseas locations successful bid to behaviour classified missions collecting signals intelligence."

In 2002, she reportedly deployed to Saudi Arabia.

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The indictment says Witt was assigned arsenic an Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) peculiar cause transgression researcher and counterintelligence officer, wherever she deployed elsewhere successful the Middle East, including Iraq successful 2005 and Qatar successful 2006.

Monica Witt is believed to beryllium surviving successful Iran, according to FBI officials. (FBI)

She was portion of a "Special Access Program" (SAP) that gave her entree to classified information, including "details of ongoing counterintelligence operations, existent names of sources, and the identities of U.S. agents progressive successful the recruitment of those sources."

"This SAP was known wrong the USIC by a codification name," the indictment says. "The codification sanction allowed agents to pass successful the unfastened without disclosing the existent quality of their operations."

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Witt's clip arsenic a subordinate of the Air Force came to an extremity successful 2008.

Government contracting and education

From 2008 until 2010, Witt was employed arsenic a authorities contractor but worked with AFOSI.

The New York Times reported that Witt received a bachelor's grade from the University of Maryland successful 2008, conscionable astir the aforesaid clip she near the Air Force. Thereafter, she enrolled successful a postgraduate programme astatine George Washington University successful Middle East studies.

Witt was described arsenic "withdrawn" and "alienated" by classmates, who besides mentioned "drone strikes, extrajudicial killings and atrocities against children."

It was successful February 2012, conscionable earlier she graduated from George Washington University, that the authorities says Witt acceptable her plans to betray the United States and defect to Iran successful motion.

A span damaged by U.S. airstrikes is seen successful Karaj, westbound of Tehran, Iran, connected April 3, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

She traveled to Iran that period to be the International Conference connected Hollywoodism successful Tehran, an anti-western lawsuit held during the Fajr International Film Festival each twelvemonth "aimed astatine condemning American motivation standards and promoting anti-U.S. propaganda," according to the indictment.

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During that trip, she is accused of providing her "bona fides" to the IRGC successful bid to found that she was a credible root of American nationalist defence quality and that she disclosed authorities secrets to them.

She was not invited to the Hollywoodism, but was allowed to talk anyway, according to The New York Times. The indictment says she "was identified arsenic a U.S. seasoned and made statements that were captious of the U.S. government, knowing these videos would beryllium broadcast by Iranian media outlets."

At the aforesaid time, her nationalist conversion to Islam was filmed and broadcast connected Iranian authorities television.

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In May, astatine astir the aforesaid clip she received her postgraduate degree, the FBI reached retired to Witt, telling her she was a premier people for recruitment by Iranian quality officials.

An Iranian emblem is planted successful the rubble of a constabulary station, damaged successful airstrikes connected March 3, 2026 successful Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Defection

By then, it was excessively late.

Witt had go ensnared by a "spotter" — idiosyncratic who recruits connected behalf of a overseas quality work — successful this case, Iran.

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The indictment refers to the "spotter" arsenic "Individual A," named by The New York Times arsenic Louisiana-born writer turned naturalized Iranian national and authorities tv broadcaster Marzieh Hashemi.

Hashemi allegedly traveled to the U.S., and on with Witt, filmed an anti-Western propaganda movie that was aboriginal distributed successful Iran.

Over the people of the adjacent year, according to the indictment, Witt bounced astir from state to state portion she worked with Hashemi to summation imperishable residence successful Iran. Some of that clip was spent successful Dubai and Afghanistan.

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Around that time, the FBI enactment retired a missing persons declaration for Witt, saying that arsenic of July 2013, she was believed to beryllium successful either Afghanistan oregon Tajikistan teaching English.

Iranians acceptable occurrence to United States and Israel flags during a gathering astatine Enghelab Square successful Tehran connected March 17, 2026, to commemorate those killed from the Dena naval vas sinking. (Getty Images)

Text messages betwixt the brace chronicled their efforts, including Iranian suspicion of Witt and alleged plans to "slip into Russia quietly" and exposure U.S. secrets via WikiLeaks if she couldn't summation entree to Iran. Witt explicitly said successful 1 connection that she would not spell to Turkey for fearfulness of the country's extradition statement with the United States.

But connected Aug. 25, 2013, according to the indictment, Witt sent an email titled "My Bio and Job History" to Hashemi, which contained much "bona fides," her Certificate of Release oregon Discharge From Active Duty DD-214 form, and her Islamic "conversion narrative." The indictment alleges that astir the aforesaid time, she searched connected Facebook for the names of U.S. quality services assets.

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The aforesaid day, that email was forwarded to an email code associated with the Iranian government.

On Aug. 28, 2013, she boarded a formation to Iran.

"I'm signing disconnected and heading out! Coming home," she texted Hashemi.

Motorists thrust past the Imam Sadiq (AS) mosque with a elephantine Iranian emblem installed connected its beforehand astatine the Palestine Square successful Tehran connected April 19, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Life successful Iran

Immediately aft defecting, Witt was accused of providing Iranian authorities officials with the codification sanction for a Department of Defense SAP.

Throughout 2014 and 2015, she is accused of helping make "target packages," defined as, "a document, oregon acceptable of documents, assembled to alteration an quality oregon subject portion to find, fix, track, and neutralize a threat," for the Iranian government.

Those "target patches" person allegedly included the names of U.S. counterintelligence agents.

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Later, she is accused of linking up with Iranian hackers and producing malware "designed to seizure a target's keystrokes, entree a computer's web camera, and show different machine activity."

This exertion was turned against U.S. quality assets whom Witt identified, according to the indictment. Witt and her co-defendants concocted schemes to implant malware connected the computers of U.S. subject quality workers known to Witt, mostly by reaching retired to them done Facebook.

Mourners question Iranian flags and clasp a poster of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a ceremonial procession successful Tehran, Iran, connected March 11, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

She was indicted alongside 4 different co-conspirators accused successful the hacking operation.

Witt is officially charged with conspiracy to present and delivering nationalist defence accusation to representatives of the Iranian government, delivering nationalist defence accusation to representatives of the Iranian government, conspiracy to perpetrate machine intrusion, machine intrusion, aggravated individuality theft and aiding and abetting.

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"Monica Witt allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution much than a decennary agone by defecting to Iran and providing the Iranian authorities National Defense Information and apt continues to enactment their nefarious activities," Daniel Wierzbicki, peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, said successful Thursday's announcement astir the $200,000 reward.

"The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this captious infinitesimal successful Iran’s history, determination is idiosyncratic who knows thing astir her whereabouts. The FBI wants to perceive from you truthful you tin assistance america apprehend Witt and bring her to justice."