Boston: A Massachusetts man was convicted yesterday in federal court following a 14-day jury trial for charges related to a scheme to illegally export sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran. Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, 43, a dual U.S.-Iranian national of Natick, Massachusetts, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR); and two counts of violation of the IEEPA and the ITSR. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Oct. 13. According to United States Department of Justice, Sadeghi was charged by criminal complaint in December 2024 alongside Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Mohammad Abedini, of Tehran, Iran, and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury shortly thereafter. They were again charged in a superseding indictment in December 2025. Abedini remains a fugitive in wanted status. This guilty verdict demonstrates the N ational 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. 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 national security. Sadeghi exploited his access to sophisticated U.S. technology to help funnel sensitive electronic components to Iran, violating U.S. sanctions and export control laws. These laws exist to protect national security by preventing these high-tech components from reaching 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. This verdict should serve as a wake-up call to 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. 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. According to court documents, Abedini is the founder and managing director of an Iranian company, Sanat Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak Co. (SDRA), that manufactures navigation modules used in the IRGC's military drone program. SDRA's main business is the sale of a proprietary navigation system to the IRGC, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States on April 15, 2019. Sadeghi was employed by a Massachusetts-based microelectronics manufacturer and was one of the founders of a Massachusetts-based technology company specializing in wearable sensors. Sadeghi and others conspired to evade U.S. export control and sanctions laws by procuring U.S. origin goods a nd causing them to be exported and supplied to Iran and Abedini's Iranian company, SDRA. In 2016, Sadeghi traveled to Iran to request funding for his company from the Iranian National Elites Foundation (INEF), a governmental organization supporting elite national talents. In exchange for funding, Sadeghi and others created a second company in Iran and entered into a contract with SDRA for the purchase of technology. Sadeghi helped Abedini procure U.S. export-controlled electronic components for reexport to Iran. Due to U.S. laws restricting exports to Iran, Abedini established a Switzerland front company for SDRA, Illumove SA. With Sadeghi's assistance, Abedini, through Illumove, entered into a contract to develop a product to evaluate electronic components, including semiconductors. Sadeghi caused U.S.-origin goods to be transferred to Iran for the benefit of SDRA. Abedini allegedly provided material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the IRGC Aerospace Force. Since 2014, SDRA has had multiple p rojects with the IRGC Aerospace Force, including guided rockets and integrated navigation systems. Between 2021 and 2022, a significant portion of SDRA's sales of the Sepehr Navigation System, used in IRGC drones, were to the IRGC's Aerospace Force. On Jan. 28, 2024, three U.S. service members were killed, and more than 40 others were injured in a drone attack by IRGC-backed militants on a military base in northern Jordan. The recovered drone was an Iranian Shahed UAV, using a navigation system manufactured by Abedini's company. The charges provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, supervised release, and a fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the District of Massachusetts National Security Unit, and Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations, and the remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
