A Massachusetts man was found guilty in federal court after a two-week jury trial for his role in a scheme to send sensitive U.S. electronic components to Iran, a case that ties alleged export violations to an Iranian firm linked to the IRGC’s drone and missile programs.
A jury in Boston convicted Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, 43, of Natick, Massachusetts, on charges stemming from a conspiracy and direct violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). The trial lasted 14 days, and U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani set sentencing for Oct. 13. Prosecutors say the case centers on exporting sophisticated microelectronic parts from the United States to Iran through intermediaries in Europe.
Sadeghi was charged in December 2024 and later indicted by a federal grand jury; a superseding indictment followed in December 2025. The case names Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Mohammad Abedini, of Tehran as a co-defendant who remains a fugitive and is wanted by authorities. Court documents portray a multi-year scheme involving companies in the U.S., Switzerland, and Iran to move export-controlled components into Iranian hands.
According to the filings, Abedini founded and ran San’at Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak Co., commonly known as SDRA or SADRA, which manufactures navigation modules used in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ military drone program. SDRA’s primary product is the Sepehr Navigation System, a proprietary navigation package used in unmanned aerial vehicles and in cruise and ballistic missiles. The IRGC was designated as a foreign terrorist organization on April 15, 2019, and SDRA’s technology is alleged to have been tailored for that military use.
“This guilty verdict demonstrates the National Security Division’s commitment to holding accountable those who violate U.S. sanctions against Iran,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “For years, Sadeghi conspired to and did send sensitive microelectronic parts from the United States to Iran through a company in Europe despite receiving training on U.S. sanctions and export law. The National Security Division will continue to pursue those who, through unlawful export and deception, threaten our national security.”
Prosecutors allege Sadeghi worked at a Massachusetts-based microelectronics manufacturer labeled U.S. Company 1 and helped found a separate Massachusetts technology firm, U.S. Company 2, focused on wearable sensors. The indictment says he used his positions to procure U.S.-origin goods and cause them to be exported, ultimately funneling accelerometers, gyroscopes and inertial measurement units to Iran. Officials contend those parts are the types used in SDRA’s Sepehr Navigation System.
“This defendant exploited his access to sophisticated U.S. technology to help funnel sensitive electronic components to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions and export control laws. These laws exist to protect our national security by preventing these high-tech components from reaching – and being used by – hostile foreign actors and terrorist organizations. This verdict makes clear that individuals who conspire to evade U.S. sanctions will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “We will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and prosecute those who seek to evade these critical safeguards.”
The court papers describe the use of a Swiss front company, Illumove SA, created to mask SDRA’s purchases and to receive U.S. components for evaluation and onward transfer. With Sadeghi’s assistance, officials say Abedini and Illumove contracted with U.S. Company 1 to test and evaluate electronic parts, then arranged reexports that ultimately benefited SDRA. Those procurement and routing steps are central to the government’s allegation that export controls and sanctions were intentionally evaded.
“By illegally exporting sophisticated American technology to Iran, Sadeghi violated U.S. laws and endangered national security,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “This conviction holds him accountable. The FBI and our partners are committed to using all our resources to bring to justice anyone who helps our adversaries.”
Court filings further allege that Abedini provided material support to the IRGC Aerospace Force, a strategic missile, air and space arm of the IRGC, and that SDRA worked on projects with that force dating back to about 2014. The documents claim that between 2021 and 2022 roughly 99 percent of SDRA’s Sepehr Navigation System sales were to the IRGC Aerospace Force and that the system was installed in one-way attack drones used in combat operations.
Investigators connected the technology to a real-world attack: on Jan. 28, 2024, three U.S. service members were killed and more than 40 wounded in a drone strike by IRGC-backed militants at Tower 22 in northern Jordan. Analysis of a recovered Shahed UAV reportedly showed a navigation system manufactured by Abedini’s company. That linkage underpins prosecutors’ assertion about the national security risk posed by moving U.S. components to entities tied to Iran’s military programs.
“This verdict should serve as a wake-up call to those in corporate America that if you violate our country’s export laws, you will not get away with it,” said Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks of the FBI Boston Field Office. “Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi learned this the hard way when he conspired to send electronic components to Iran, one of the world’s most infamous state sponsors of terrorism. There’s no question Mr. Sadeghi put his own personal interests ahead of our country’s best interests. Export laws exist for a reason and that’s to protect our national security, here and abroad. Make no mistake, the FBI will continue to defend the homeland by going after anyone who illegally transfers U.S. technology to our adversaries.”
The offenses charged carry statutory penalties of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines up to $1 million for each violation, with sentencing determined by the court under federal guidelines. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the District of Massachusetts’s National Security Unit and Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. The charging documents contain allegations, and the remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
