Two Iranian men, including one with dual Iranian American citizenship, have been charged in connection with a deadly drone attack earlier this year that killed three U.S. military personnel and injured dozens more.
Mohammad Mahdi Sadeghi, who worked for a Massachusetts-based semiconductor company, was arrested in Massachusetts, and Mohammad Abedini was arrested in Italy and is being held by Italian authorities, according to federal prosecutors. Federal prosecutors are seeking Mr. Abedini’s extradition to Massachusetts.
Both men have been charged with export control violations. They are accused of exporting sensitive technology used in deadly drone attacks to Iran. Abedini faces an additional charge of conspiracy to provide material support to Iran.
“When we talk about the risk of American technology falling into dangerous hands, we often cite hypothetical risks,” said U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy. “Unfortunately, in this situation, we are not making assumptions.”
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Seen here from left to right are Sgt. Kennedy Sanders Sergeant William Jerome Rivers and Sergeant Breonna Alexandria Moffett. These three U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed on January 28, 2024, in a drone attack on a base in Jordan near the Syrian border. (Sean Sanders and U.S. Army, via AP, File)
The charges are related to the deadly Jan. 28 attack on U.S. troops, the first since the Israeli-Hamas war began in October 2023.
The two were arrested after the FBI analyzed the drone and traced the navigation system to an Iranian company run by Abedini. Officials said he relied on technology provided by Sadeghi from the United States.
Sadeghi, who lives in Natick, a Boston suburb, “abandoned the country he took to help build up its arsenal” to target U.S. military personnel, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jody, Boston Field Office.・Mr. Cohen stated. .
Prosecutors say Abedini’s company makes navigation systems for drones and has ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). He is alleged to have conspired with Sadeghi to circumvent U.S. export control laws, including through Swiss front companies, to source sensitive technology to Iran.
Three Army reservists – Sergeant William Jerome Rivers; Special Kennedy Ladon Sanders and Spc. Breonna Alexandria Moffett, all Georgia residents, fly a drone over a small military base known as Tower 22 near the Syria-Iraq border in Jordan on January 28. in the attack, killing and injuring 47 others.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy (right) and FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Jody Cohen (left) address reporters during a press conference at the federal courthouse in Boston, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (AP)
All three were assigned to the 926th Engineer Battalion, 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Georgia. The soldiers were sent to Jordan to support what the US military calls Operation Inherent Resolve in its fight against the Islamic State terrorist group.
Rivers, 46, served as a house electrician in the Army Reserve. Meanwhile, Sanders, 24, and Moffett, 23, were working as horizontal construction engineers.
U.S. officials blamed the January attack on the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Forces, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias including Kataib Hezbollah.
During the attack, the drone may have been mistaken for a U.S. drone that was expected to return to its logistics base at about the same time and was not shot down. Instead, it crashed into a residential area, killing three soldiers and injuring more than 40 others.
In response to this deadly attack, the United States launched retaliatory strikes against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Quds Force and its affiliated militias on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said at the time that the targets included command and control operations, intelligence centers, paramilitary rockets, missiles, unmanned vehicle storage, and supply chain facilities.
A map showing the location of Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan, near the Syria-Iraq border. (Fox News)
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The soldier’s death marked an escalation in violence against US troops in the Middle East. At the time, the Biden administration blamed the attack on U.S. support for Israel amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
