US prosecutors have charged two men with conspiring to export sensitive technology to Iran that was used in a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and injured dozens of others earlier this year, APA reports citing Euronews.
The pair — one of whom is a dual Iranian-American citizen — were arrested following an FBI investigation that traced the drone’s navigation system to an Iranian company managed by one of the defendants, who relied on parts and technology funnelled into the country by his alleged co-conspirator, the US Justice Department said on Monday.
"We often cite hypothetical risk when we talk about the dangers of American technology getting into dangerous hands. Unfortunately, in this situation, we are not speculating," said US Attorney Joshua Levy, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts.
The defendants have been identified as Mahdi Mohammed Sadeghi, an employee at a Massachusetts-based semiconductor company, and Mohammed Abedininajafabadi, also known as Adedini, who was arrested in Italy as the US Justice Department seeks his extradition to Massachusetts.
Prosecutors say Abedininajafabadi’s Tehran-based company manufactures navigation systems for drones used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. They accuse him of working with Sadeghi to evade US export laws by using a Swiss front company to procure the sensitive technology.
Sadeghi, a naturalised US citizen, was arrested in Massachusetts on Monday and remanded into custody following a brief court appearance.
While both men have been charged with export control violations, Abedininajafabadi faces additional charges of conspiring to provide material support to Iran.
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