JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Federal prosecutors have charged a pair of men for unlawfully providing sensitive technology to Iran, which was utilized in a drone strike in Jordan that resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members and injuries to over 40 others.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, a dual national of the U.S. and Iran residing in Massachusetts, and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, a co-founder of an Iranian firm claimed to manufacture navigation modules for the drone program of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have been arrested. The IRGC is an Iranian military branch designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization.

Abedininajafabadi was taken into custody in Italy on Monday, where U.S. authorities seek his extradition. Sadeghi was also arrested on the same day and has had his initial court appearance in Massachusetts.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated, “Our message is clear: if you aid the Iranian regime’s acts of terror against Americans, we will locate you, apprehend you, and ensure you face justice in a U.S. court, regardless of your location.”

The arrests are linked to the January 28 attack on a U.S. military base known as Tower 22, where an uncrewed aerial vehicle struck housing units at this outpost near the Syrian border, according to the Defense Department. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-backed militant group, claimed responsibility for the drone strike, although Iran denies any involvement.

Documents filed in court reveal that an FBI examination of the drone traced its navigation system back to Abedininajafabadi’s company.

Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett lost their lives in the January incident, and 47 others sustained injuries. Following the attack, the U.S. military conducted reprisals, including February airstrikes on Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq and Syria using B-1B bombers.

‘We Hope These Charges Provide Some Justice’

The troops killed were part of the 926^th Engineer Brigade, an Army Reserve combat engineer unit located at Fort Moore, Georgia. Sanders, 24, and Moffett, 23, worked as horizontal construction engineers, while Rivers, 46, served as an interior electrician. Both Sanders and Moffett were posthumously promoted to sergeant.

U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy expressed his hope that these arrests might aid the families and friends of those who were killed or injured in the attack.

“As the son of a combat veteran, I sincerely hope the charges today bring a measure of justice and accountability for those families,” he remarked.

Sadeghi and Abedininajafabadi are facing charges of conspiring to breach the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which regulates trade with Iran. If found guilty, they could receive sentences of up to 20 years in prison. Additionally, Abedininajafabadi faces charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a possible life sentence.

A public defender for Sadeghi, noted in court documents, has yet to respond to YSL News’s requests for comments.

Authorities Link Drone to SDRA

Federal investigators stated that the drone recovered from the site of the attack featured a navigation system produced by Abedininajafabadi’s firm, identified by the initials SDRA.

Officials allege that SDRA has engaged in multiple contracts with the IRGC. Between 2021 and 2022, prosecutors claim that nearly all of the firm’s sales of its navigation systems, particularly those used in attack drones, were to the IRGC Aerospace Force.

Sadeghi is currently employed at a microelectronics firm in Massachusetts and co-founded a technology company in the state focused on wearable sensors for fitness monitoring. Prosecutors allege that in 2016, he traveled to Iran to seek funding for his company from a government-linked foundation, offering to help create an Iranian firm that later collaborated with Abedininajabadi’s organization.

Prosecutors assert that Sadeghi assisted Abedininajafabadi in evading export restrictions to deliver U.S.-made electronic components to Iran, some of which were similar to parts used in SDRA’s drone navigation systems. Abedininajafabadi is also accused of establishing a front company in Switzerland, Illumove SA, to facilitate the transfer of American goods, services, and technology into Iran for his business.

“We believe these two individuals conspired to unlawfully acquire advanced U.S. technology, made right here in Massachusetts, for one of the world’s most notorious state sponsors of terrorism,” stated Jodi Cohen, the special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division.

Cohen emphasized that this prosecution “shows our continued commitment to bringing to justice anyone who aims to perpetrate acts of terror against the United States and its allies.”