US charges former Air Force officer with spying for Iran

The US has charged a former Air Force officer with spying for Iran in an operation that targeted her fellow officers, according to an indictment unsealed in a federal court. Monica Witt, who was also a former counterintelligence officer for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, defected to Iran in 2013, according to the indictment on Wednesday. She remains at large, CNN reported.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says that Witt, 39, was last seen in southwest Asia in July 2013.

According to the Department of Justice, Witt was targeted and recruited by Iran and after she defected, she allegedly revealed to Tehran the existence of a "highly classified intelligence collection programme" and the identify of a US intelligence officer, "thereby risking the life of this individual".

Witt is accused of sharing the US government secrets, including the name of agents and specifics of operations, with Iran as early as January 2012. In a charging document, investigators said she was deployed by the US to locations in the Middle East to conduct classified counterintelligence operations. Four Iranian citizens were also charged with attempting to install spy software on computers belonging to Witt's colleagues.

"It is a sad day for America when one of its citizens betrays our country," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said.