Two arrested over US tech used in deadly drone attack on soldiers in Jordan

Two individuals, an Iranian-American and a Swiss Iranian, have been arrested for allegedly exporting sensitive US technology to Iran, which was reportedly used in a deadly drone strike on US forces in Jordan.

Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, an Iranian-American citizen and co-founder of an Iranian company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices, were charged by US authorities for conspiring to breach US export laws, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The charges stem from a drone attack carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed militia group, which resulted in the deaths of three US soldiers and injuries to 47 others at a US military base in Jordan, near the Syrian border, in January.

Federal prosecutors in Boston announced on December 16 that Abedini, aged 38, was arrested in Milan, Italy, under a request for extradition from the US government. Sadeghi, 42, was arrested in Natick, Massachusetts.

“Today, working with our partners here and abroad, we have charged and arrested two men who conspired to evade US sanctions and supply the Iranian government with the type of drone navigation technology used in that attack,”said US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Joshua Levy, the leading federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, revealed that the FBI traced the sophisticated navigation equipment used in the drone strike to Abedini’s Iranian company, SDRA, which produced the system. Abedini allegedly used a Swiss company as a front to obtain US technology from Sadeghi’s employer, including accelerometers and gyroscopes, which were then shipped to Iran.

The US Justice Department’s statement clarified that since 2016, Sadeghi had repeatedly helped Abedini acquire restricted US electronic components.

During a brief court session, Sadeghi was detained pending a further hearing, with the prosecutor labeling him a flight risk. His court-appointed lawyer declined to comment.

Abedini’s legal representative has yet to be identified.

Though court documents do not name Sadeghi’s employer, Analog Devices confirmed that he worked for the company, which has since stated it is cooperating with law enforcement and is "committed to preventing unauthorized access to and misuse of our products and technology."

The prosecution of Abedini and Sadeghi was carried out by the US government’s Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency initiative aimed at safeguarding supply chains and preventing hostile states from acquiring sensitive technologies.

By Vafa Guliyeva