U.S. Justice Department Accuses Iranian-American Citizen of Transferring Confidential Information to the Islamic Republic

On Friday, October 6, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a former contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an Iranian national, has been charged and prosecuted for espionage and selling confidential information to the Iranian government. The accused, identified as Abouzar Rahmati, 42, a U.S. citizen residing in Virginia, had his first court hearing on Friday in Washington, D.C. The indictment states that Rahmati collaborated with Iranian intelligence agents, was employed as a contractor for the FAA, and transferred confidential information from the U.S. solar energy industry to Iranian entities. On August 15, 2023, the U.S. Justice Department also charged Jeffrey Chance Nader, a 68-year-old Iranian-American citizen, with the illegal export of aircraft parts manufactured in the U.S. to the Islamic Republic. Matthew Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, described Nader's arrest as indicative of "America's commitment to preventing the Islamic Republic's access to military equipment" and added, "We will continue to investigate, disrupt, and hold accountable criminal networks that supply sensitive technologies to hostile and repressive governments." Robert Wells, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI's National Security Branch, emphasized that any circumvention of U.S. export control laws is unacceptable and that the FBI, in cooperation with its partners worldwide, is actively seeking to identify and punish individuals and companies that violate export laws.