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The United States has charged two men, including a dual US-Iranian citizen, with exporting sensitive technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 drone attack in Jordan, which killed three American soldiers and injured dozens of others.

Some background before you read: Back in January 2024, a deadly drone attack targeted a US military base known as Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan, located near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. The one-way drone, attributed to the Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq, struck the base’s living quarters, killing three US soldiers: Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Georgia, Sgt. Breonna Moffett of Savannah, Georgia, and Sgt. Kennedy Sanders of Waycross, Georgia. More than 40 other service members were injured in the strike, which occurred when the enemy drone reportedly followed an American drone returning to the base and was mistaken for friendly.

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What’s going on now: In an announcement, the Department of Justice revealed the arrests of Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, a 42-year-old dual US-Iranian citizen from Massachusetts, and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Mohammad Abedini, a 38-year-old Iranian national. Sadeghi was taken into custody in Massachusetts, while Abedini was arrested in Italy at the request of the US. The two men are accused of conspiring to export sensitive electronic components from the US to Iran in violation of export control and sanctions laws. Abedini is also charged with providing material support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, by supplying drone navigation technology that was later used in the deadly Jordan attack.

Evidence presented by the DOJ links Abedini’s Iranian company, San’at Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak Co. (SDRA), to the IRGC’s drone program. SDRA specializes in manufacturing the Sepehr Navigation System, a proprietary technology used in military drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Investigators found that SDRA developed the navigation system in the drone used in the Jordan attack. To evade sanctions, Abedini established a front company in Switzerland called Illumove SA, which was used to procure US-origin electronic components. Sadeghi, who worked at a Massachusetts-based semiconductor company, allegedly helped Abedini secure these parts and facilitate their transfer to Iran.

US officials react: In a statement, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said, “Export crimes are much more than just regulatory violations – they enable our adversaries to engage in numerous malign activities harmful to US interests, including the sowing of terror worldwide. The FBI will continue to aggressively use all of our authorities to investigate and arrest anyone who assists the Government of Iran in obtaining technology that can be used for deadly purposes.These perpetrators allegedly facilitated the transfer of electronic components to an Iranian company which one of them owned.  According to the charges, the company owner then supplied the IRGC with drone technology that was used in various terrorist acts, including an attack on a US military base in Jordan which killed three servicemembers and injured dozens more. Such acts are wholly unacceptable, and the FBI will work tirelessly with our partners to cut off illegal transfers of technology to foreign terrorists and other adversaries.”

US Attorney Joshua Levy said, “Holding culpable people accountable for the death and maiming of US service men and women bravely serving our nation abroad is about as important a prosecution as there is. These allegations make clear the grievous harm that can result when highly sophisticated American technologies subject to export controls end up in the hands of our adversaries. These criminal charges are the direct product of the dogged work of the FBI and the Department of Commerce, in close collaboration with DOJ lawyers, as part of the Disruptive Technologies Task Force launched in February 2023, and I commend their outstanding work.”

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