Two charged over US technology used in deadly drone attack on soldiers in Jordan Drone strikes news

An Iranian-American and an Iranian-Swiss have been arrested on charges of exporting sensitive US technology to Iran for use in attack drones.

US authorities have arrested an American citizen of Iranian origin and an Iranian-Swiss citizen, accusing them of exporting sensitive technology to Iran that was used in a deadly drone attack on… American forces stationed in Jordan.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group for Iran-backed fighters, allegedly carried out the drone attack that killed three American soldiers and wounded 47 others at a US military site in Jordan, near the Syrian border, in January.

Federal prosecutors in Boston on Monday charged 38-year-old Mohammad Abedin Najafabadi, known as Mohammad Abedini, co-founder of the Iran-based company, and Mehdi Sadeghi, 42, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor maker Analog Devices. Conspiracy to violate US export laws.

Abedini, a dual citizen of Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Milan, Italy at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalized American citizen who lives in Natick, Massachusetts, was also arrested.

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

Joshua Levy, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, said the FBI traced the sophisticated navigation equipment used in the drone to Abedini’s Iranian company SDRA, which manufactured the navigation system.

Levy said Abedini used a company in Switzerland as a front to purchase American technology from Sadeghi’s employer, including accelerometers and gyroscopes that were then sent to Iran.

The US Department of Justice said in a statement that on multiple occasions since 2016, Sadeghi-Abedini helped purchase export-controlled US electrical components.

During a brief court session, Sadeghi was ordered detained pending another hearing after the prosecutor described him as likely to flee. His court-appointed attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Abedini’s lawyer has not been identified.

The court papers did not identify Sadeghi’s employer by name, but Analog Devices confirmed in a statement that he worked for the company.

Analog Devices said it is cooperating with law enforcement and is “committed to preventing unauthorized access to and misuse of our products and technology.”

The US Justice Department said the prosecution of the two men was coordinated through the US government’s Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency force focused on “illicit actors” and protecting supply chains in order to prevent “hostile nation-states” from obtaining sensitive technology. .