Two charged over US technology used in deadly drone attack on soldiers in Jordan | Drone Strikes News

An Iranian-American and a Swiss-Iranian have been arrested for allegedly exporting sensitive US technology to Iran for use in attack drones.

An American citizen of Iranian descent and a Swiss-Iranian have been arrested by US authorities and charged with exporting sensitive technology used in a deadly drone attack to Iran. American forces are stationed in Jordan.

The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed fighters, allegedly carried out a drone attack on a US military post in Jordan near the Syrian border in January that killed three US soldiers and wounded 47 others.

Federal prosecutors in Boston on Monday indicted 38-year-old Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Mohammad Abedini, co-founder of the Iran-based company, and Mehdi Sadeghi, 42, an employee of Massachusetts 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 will seek his extradition. Sadeghi, a US citizen of Iranian descent living in Natick, Massachusetts, was also arrested.

“Today, along with our partners here and abroad, we indicted and arrested two individuals who conspired to evade U.S. sanctions and provide the Iranian government with the type of drone navigation technology used in this attack,” said Deputy U.S. Attorney Lisa Monaco. statement.

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

Abedini, Levy said, used a company in Switzerland to buy US technology from Sadeghi’s employer, including accelerometers and gyroscopes that were later shipped to Iran.

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

During a brief hearing, Sadeghi was ordered held pending further hearings after prosecutors called him a flight risk. His court-appointed attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Abedini’s lawyer could not be identified.

Court documents did not name Sadeghi’s employer, but Analog Devices confirmed in a statement that he was employed by the company.

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

The US Department of Justice said the prosecution of the two men was coordinated through the US government’s Disruptive Technology Security Force, an interagency force focused on “illegal actors” and protecting supply chains to prevent the acquisition of sensitive technologies by “enemy nation states”. .