Monica Witt stepped off a plane in Tehran in late August 2013 and began a new life. No matter how hard the United States Air Force veteran has tried, however, she can’t fully escape her past.
The U.S. government won’t let her.
Six years after Witt defected, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted the former counterintelligence officer on February 8, 2019, and charged her with espionage and other crimes for supplying Iran with top-secret information.
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A technical sergeant, Witt served in the Air Force from 1997 to 2008 before working as a Defense Department contractor. She held high-level security clearances and helped oversee a secret program involving informants working against Iran, The New York Times reported.
The Wrong Choice
Witt earned a master’s degree in Middle East studies from George Washington University in 2012. The same year, GWU published articles from her that were critical of the U.S. government.
“In enacting a policy of severe sanctions against Iran, the US should address the potential [effects] on other countries and not inadvertently alienate friends by making them choose between Iran and the US,” Witt wrote in one of them.
According to the Justice Department, Witt made the wrong choice.
Witt’s motives for defecting are basically conjecture, but this much is known: She became infatuated with the Quran after a six-month deployment to Iraq in 2005. Wanting to understand Iraqis more, Witt immersed herself in the Islamic holy book nightly, absorbing its teachings.
Those sessions deeply affected Witt, who grew up in a Christian household in El Paso, Texas, so much that she converted to Islam during a trip to Iran in 2012. The switch coincided with Witt’s increasing disillusionment regarding the United States military, believing it disparaged Muslims and was dismissive of women.
“The majority of men simply do not take the idea of harassment seriously,” she told a state-owned news network in Tehran in 2012. “They make comments about a woman’s appearance or make generalized sexual remarks openly at work. Oftentimes, they do not view these comments as inappropriate.”
How Witt Became “Wayward Storm”
Former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist charged with spying for Iran
Beginning in January 2012, Witt allegedly conspired with Iranians over a nearly 3½-year period to deliver “documents and information relating to the national defense of the United States,” according to the indictment. Witt, whom some government officials referred to as “Wayward Storm,” also allegedly put together “target packages” about U.S. government agents and counterintelligence officers for Iran.
In addition, Witt is believed to have provided the code name and classified mission of a Defense Department Special Access Program to the Iranians, the Justice Department claimed.
Besides Witt, four Iranian nationals were charged with trying to gain information from at least eight of Witt’s former colleagues in the U.S. government through phishing or malware attacks. The hackers worked on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the indictment said.
By providing intel to the alleged hackers, Witt “enabled the Government of Iran to identify, track, and neutralize US counterintelligence agents,” a Justice Department official said at the time of the indictment.
Denouncing the United States
Witt speaks Farsi, the primary language of Iran. A dual American-Iranian citizen working for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps recruited her as a possible spy and gauged the quality of the information she provided.
In late 2012, the contact was so pleased with Witt’s intel that they complimented her on her training and jokingly inquired whether they should thank the secretary of defense.
“LOL, thank the sec of defense?” Witt replied to the initial email, according to the indictment. “For me? Well, I loved the work, and I am endeavoring to put the training I received to good use instead of evil. Thanks for giving me the opportunity.”
In the months leading to her defection, Witt traveled to Tehran and participated in anti-America “Hollywoodism” conferences and appeared in videos denouncing the U.S.
Spilling Everything She Knows
In May 2012, the FBI became so concerned about Witt’s loyalties that they approached him with concerns that Iranian intelligence could target her.
Witt tried to allay those fears, saying if she ever went back to Iran, she promised not to discuss her work. That turned out to be the worst kind of empty promise. Witt made it known to the Iranians in February 2013 that she was prepared to defect, the FBI alleged.
That June, Witt wrote to her contact that “if all else fails, I just may go public with a program and do like [Edward] Snowden :).” It didn’t come to that. As alleged in the indictment, Witt went to the Iranian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, and told everything she knew.
There was no turning back.
“Coming Home”
In late August 2013, Witt forwarded along her “conversion narrative” and her military discharge paperwork, among other documents, to the Iranians. A few days later, she boarded a flight from Dubai to Tehran.
As she did, she allegedly messaged her contact.
“I’m signing off and heading out! Coming home,” she wrote.
Witt’s exact whereabouts are unknown, although it is likely she still resides somewhere in Iran. If captured, the Air Force veteran, who will turn 47 years old on April 8, 2026, could potentially face the death penalty.
Wherever Witt is, those charges persistently hover around her.
