U.S. Charges American Military Officer with Spying for Iran
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged a former female officer of the American Air Force with espionage for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Monica Witt is accused of cooperating with Iran’s security organization while she was in Iran.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged a former Air Force officer on Wednesday, February 13, 2024, with cooperating with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and conducting cyber operations against the United States.
According to German news agency reports, Monica Witt, 39, traveled to Iran in 2013. She has been accused by a U.S. federal court of providing highly classified information to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic.
Monica Witt served for 11 years starting in 1997 as an intelligence officer in the counter-intelligence division of the U.S. Air Force. The U.S. Department of Justice has issued an arrest warrant for the former American security officer. The warrant for Ms. Witt was issued in absentia.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Monica Witt had access to highly classified information. She also participated in American counter-intelligence operations outside the country.
John Demers, Deputy Attorney General of the United States, stated that the complaint against Monica Witt is because she “provided highly classified American security information to the Iranian regime and revealed the identity of one of America’s security personnel.”
Monica Witt participated in two international conferences that were related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Monica Witt became acquainted with the security institutions of the Islamic Republic during her trips to Iran and established contact with them.
A U.S. federal court has convicted four Iranians for attempting to conduct cyber intrusions and access information of Monica Witt’s colleagues.
The United States has sanctioned two companies, “Net Pegard Samavat” and “Ofoq Noor,” which operated in the cyber field.
According to Iranian media reports, “Gholamreza Montazemi, Hamed Qashqavi, Nader Talebzadeh, and Zeinab Mahna Talebzadeh due to their connection with the “Ofoq Noor” institution, and Behzad Masri, Hossein Abbasi, Hossein Parovar, Mojtaba Masoudpour, Milad Mirzabeygi, and Mohammad Bagher Shirinkaar due to their connection with the “Net Pegard Samavat” company have been placed on the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions list.”
