Two individuals, including a dual Iranian-American citizen, have been accused of aiding in the export of sensitive technology to Iran, which was used in a drone strike in Jordan earlier this year, killing three U.S. soldiers and injuring dozens more, the Justice Department announced Monday.
The arrests followed an FBI investigation linking the drone’s navigation system to an Iranian firm managed by one of the defendants. This individual allegedly collaborated with the second defendant to smuggle parts and technology into Iran, bypassing U.S. export laws, prosecutors said.
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“These charges demonstrate the very real danger posed by American technology falling into the wrong hands,” said U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy during a press briefing.
The suspects, identified as Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, an employee at a Massachusetts semiconductor company, and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, who was detained in Italy and is awaiting extradition, face multiple charges. Prosecutors claim Abedininajafabadi has significant ties to the Iranian government and runs a Tehran-based company producing navigation systems for military drones used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The pair allegedly created a Swiss front company to facilitate the illegal technology transfer.
Sadeghi, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested in Massachusetts and remains in custody. His legal representative has yet to comment. The charges against them include violations of export control laws, with Abedininajafabadi also facing counts of conspiring to provide material support to Iran.
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The January 28 drone attack struck a U.S. base in northeastern Jordan, killing Georgia soldiers Sgt. William Rivers, Sgt. Breonna Moffett, and Sgt. Kennedy Sanders. The drone, believed to have been mistaken for an incoming U.S. aircraft, crashed into residential quarters, injuring over 40 personnel. The U.S. attributed the attack to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militias, including Kataib Hezbollah.
In response, the U.S. launched extensive strikes on militia sites in Iraq and Syria and strengthened defenses at the affected outpost, Tower 22. The base, situated near the borders of Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, housed 350 U.S. personnel at the time and gained strategic importance after escalating regional tensions following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Prosecutors expressed hope that these charges would bring a sense of justice to the victims and their families.