The Justice Department announced on Monday that two men have been arrested and charged in connection with the Jordan air strike that resulted in the death of three soldiers from Georgia on January 28th.
Officials have stated that the men were involved in exporting sensitive technology to Iran, which was subsequently used in the strike.
Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, an individual holding dual U.S./Iranian citizenship, and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, an Iranian national, were taken into custody subsequent to the examination of the drone conducted by FBI experts. According to officials, the origin of the drone’s navigation system was traced back to an Iranian company under the operation of Abedininajafabad.
U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy claims that Abedininajafabad’s company is believed to have strong ties to the Iranian government, the Iranian military, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The U.S. has officially designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.
According to Levy, the men are accused of conspiring to breach U.S. export laws aimed at safeguarding sensitive technologies. Abedininajafabadi, on the other hand, faces additional charges of conspiring to provide material support resulting in death to a foreign terrorist organization.
“We frequently discuss the potential risks associated with American technology falling into the wrong hands,” Levy expressed during a press conference. “Regrettably, in this particular case, our concerns are no longer hypothetical.”
Officials have attributed the drone attack to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes Kataib Hezbollah, as reported by the Associated Press.
A somber moment in Waycross as fallen soldiers make their final journey home after a tragic drone strike in Jordan.
More than 40 other soldiers were also injured.
Abedininajafabad was apprehended in Italy on Monday, with the Justice Department now pursuing his extradition to Massachusetts.