The Iranian sniper accused of being a sleeper agent
Playing Call of Duty lead to a love match Morgan Gardner never expected. When she started to play the online game in 2020, known as a violent first-person shooter contest, she didn't think she'd meet her future husband. Or that he'd be half a world away in Iran. But a friendship that was sparked online evolved into a romance that turned into a marriage between Gardner - a blonde, blue-eyed Alabama girl - and Ribvar Karimi, 26, an Iranian army sniper who moved to America to be with her - and was arrested this weekend as the US waged war with Tehran.
'Never did I think I was going to meet someone that way. Never did I think I would marry someone from another country,' Gardner told the Daily Mail. Now the newlyweds are being tested. Karimi was arrested by US immigration officials over the weekend along with 10 others as part of what ICE called their 'commitment to keeping known and suspected terrorists out of American communities'. His wife, who is seven months pregnant, believes he was unfairly targeted as American relations with Iran continue to fracture.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents came to their home about an hour outside Birmingham, claiming he was no longer legally in the country because he'd missed a deadline to file paperwork for his fiancé visa, which allowed him legal entry to the country in October. In their announcement of his arrest, ICE also pointed to Karimi's service as a sniper in the Iranian army from 2018 to 2021 - an ominous fact, given Trump's ongoing warnings about dormant terror sleeper cells who spring up to attack America at any given moment. Gardner, 30, insists that any suggestion her husband is dangerous is 'ridiculous'.
'I'm heartbroken. This man wears the American flag proudly on everything he owns. I know a lot of people have stereotypes about people from the Middle East, and that's unfortunately what happened to him.' She claimed that the first thing he bought when he got off the plane was an American Flag, and questioned why he would do that when it'd get him killed back in Iran. The couple disclosed his involvement in the army on his visa application and he underwent extra vetting because of his country of origin and military service, she said.
'We never hid it from them. We gave him his military card in his interview. We gave them the card when they showed up to our house on Sunday. We thought it was best to be honest because we have nothing to hide.' Gardner also stated that military service is mandatory in Iran, and that he's Kurdish, an ethnic group in Iran that is often persecuted by the Iranian government. Kurds tend to be Sunni Muslims in a mostly Shia country. 'He's not a terrorist, he's not part of a terrorist organization. He loves this country. He fought against ISIS.
'For goodness sake, his groom's cake at our wedding was an American flag with bullets on it that says, 'We the people.' He was so happy for small freedoms, like being able to wear shorts, because even men can't do that in Iran.' The pair found love online while he was still serving in the military. 'We were on the same team during one game. We liked playing together so much that we would always invite each other to play if we would see each other online,' the bride explained of their Call of Duty courtship. Online meetings turned into private messaging where the pair discussed the countries they were from, what they believed and joked constantly.
'We were always laughing. We got to know each other's hearts. Finally, I brought up that we should meet,' she added. After a year and a half of getting to know each other online, the pair planned a meeting in Turkey. 'We cried when we first met for the first time. There was no awkwardness. We said I love you, too.' 'Then it became about, how do I have you in my life?' 'He suggested I move to Iran, but then I said, 'Why can't you come to America and live with me?' He said, 'I'm from Iran. That will never happen.'
The couple became engaged during their first three-week-long meeting in Istanbul. Gardner started looking into a fiancé visa for him, a process that took nearly three years to get approved. Eight more trips to Turkey, usually between 2-3 weeks each, followed along with the couple's family talking to try to understand and get comfortable with their whirlwind relationship. 'At first, my family wasn't so sure, but after they talked to him, they changed their minds. My father said after talking to him the first time that he knew it was okay,' she recounted.
In October, Karimi's K-1 visa was approved and he was finally cleared to come to the US. The couple wed on January 18 and Gardner learned she was carrying their first child soon after they said 'I do.' Their honeymoon phase turned to worry after learning their pregnancy was high risk, however, the couple forged on, planning a baby shower for their son this coming weekend. Everything changed when ICE showed up at their door Sunday, claiming he was no longer in the US legally because he never filed additional paperwork proving that the marriage had actually happened. Gardner insists they were not give a deadline to submit the requirement. She has now hired an attorney who has confirmed that they were in compliance.
'He did confirm with me that there's no deadline on getting that paperwork completed. He was probably picked up because of everything that happened in Iran over the weekend. Gardner says she has had to use her life's savings to pay for lawyers fees, already spending $12,000 just to get him here, and expecting to pay at least $10,000 more in an attempt to get him released. She is asking for donations online to help pay for the expenses and travel to Louisiana to see her husband, where ICE is expected to transfer him in a few days. With the help of a lawyer, she is hoping he will be released on bond soon, but she's prepared to be alone during their baby shower this weekend. 'I'm not feeling that patriotic right now. I feel really disappointed as an American citizen,' she said. 'I feel like this is just a huge misunderstanding.'
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