On Monday, December 16, U.S. prosecutors announced charges against two individuals in connection with a drone attack carried out by militias affiliated with the Iranian regime in Jordan, near the Syrian border, which took place in January.
The attack resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members and injured more than 47 others.
Federal prosecutors in Boston stated that they would announce charges later on Monday at a press conference against an Iranian citizen and a dual Iranian-American national. The charges include violations of export laws and materially supporting the Iranian government in connection with the drone attack.
According to Reuters, one of the individuals, Mahdi Sadeghi, was arrested in Massachusetts and is scheduled to appear in court soon. The other individual, Mohammad Abedini, was arrested outside the United States.
On Monday evening, U.S. officials announced in a press conference that by examining the drone used in the attack on the base hosting U.S. forces in Jordan, they were able to trace how its parts ended up in the Iranian drone used in the January attack.
They stated that Mohammad Abedini, who owns a company in Iran with ties to the government, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the armed forces, obtained an American-made component through Mahdi Sadeghi, who worked at the company that manufactured the part. The part was procured via a front company in Europe.
Abedini was arrested in Italy through efforts by the FBI, and U.S. officials are working to extradite him to the United States for trial.
These charges relate to the first deadly attack against U.S. forces since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.
regime responsible for the drone attack on U.S. forces, an attack that sent shockwaves throughout the Middle East.
The coalition known as the “Islamic Resistance” in Iraq, consisting of extremist militias affiliated with the Iranian regime, claimed responsibility for attacks on three bases, including one near the Jordan-Syria border.
