Federal authorities have arrested two Iranian men in connection with a fatal drone strike in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and injured dozens more.
Joshua Levy, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, said at a press conference Monday that the arrests are tied to the attack on Tower 22, a base in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border, in January. Three U.S. service members were killed and 47 injured, some seriously, by the drone strike, which federal officials have said was carried out by Iran-backed militant groups.
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The two men, one in Massachusetts and one in Milan, Italy, were arrested for export violations and for providing material support to Iran.
One of the suspects is a Massachusetts man, Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who was arrested by the FBI at his home in Natick on Monday. The second was identified as Mohammad Abedini. Both were charged with conspiring to violate U.S. export laws designed to protect sensitive technologies. Abedini was also charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death.
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Federal authorities are working to have Abedini extradited from Italy to face the charges against him.
Investigators allege that the pair conspired to export sensitive technology from a semiconductor manufacturer based in Massachusetts to Abedini's company in Iran, which has strong ties to the Iranian government, military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that the drone used in the Tower 22 attack was manufactured by Abedini's company and had a navigation system that used that technology.
“We often cite hypothetical risk when we talk about the dangers of American technologies getting into dangerous hands. Unfortunately in this situation, we’re not speculating," Levy said. "As alleged in this criminal complaint the grave potential damage from the leak of American technology overseas came to fruition.
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The FBI could be seen executing a search warrant in Natick following Sadeghi's arrest Monday. Sadeghi was ordered held in custody of U.S. Marshals until a probable cause hearing and detention hearing scheduled for Dec. 27.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
