Two charged over US tech used in deadly drone attack on soldiers in Jordan

An Iranian American and a Swiss Iranian have been arrested for allegedly exporting sensitive US technology to Iran for use in attack drones.

An Iranian-American citizen and a Swiss Iranian have been arrested and charged by United States authorities with allegedly exporting sensitive technology to Iran that was used in a deadly drone attack on American forces based in Jordan.

Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed fighters, was alleged to have carried out the drone attack that killed three US soldiers and wounded 47 others at a US military outpost in Jordan, near the Syrian border, in January.

Federal prosecutors in Boston on Monday charged 38-year-old Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, who is known as Mohammad Abedini, the co-founder of an Iranian-based company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, 42, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices, with conspiring to violate US export laws.

Abedini, a dual citizen of Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Milan, Italy, at the request of the US government, which will seek his extradition. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalised US citizen, who lives in Natick, Massachusetts, was also arrested.