U.S. Prosecutors Oppose Temporary Release of Iranian Engineer Charged in 'Tower 22' Case

U.S. prosecutors say they oppose the temporary release on bail of Iranian engineer Mehdi Sadeghi, who is accused in the drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan, due to the risk of flight. Federal prosecutors in Boston stated on Tuesday, January 15, that they are against Sadeghi's release as he might flee the U.S. to avoid trial for his role in the deadly drone attack that killed three American soldiers and injured 47 others. Three weeks ago, the federal prosecutor in Boston had indicated agreement for Sadeghi's release until the trial began. However, after the Italian government released Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a co-defendant of Sadeghi, from custody in Milan and allowed him to return to Iran, U.S. prosecutors reversed their previous decision and sought to keep Sadeghi in custody. Abedini arrived in Tehran on Sunday evening, four days after the release of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist detained in Iran. Italy has not commented on the possibility of a behind-the-scenes deal that led to the mutual release of Sala and Abedini. Nevertheless, Italian media had linked Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's recent visit to the U.S. to efforts to secure Sala's release from Iranian custody. The U.S. Justice Department's indictment against Abedini and Sadeghi alleges that they assisted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in procuring precise drones and circumventing U.S. sanctions. According to the indictment, the drone attack last year on the U.S. base known as 'Tower 22' in Jordan was carried out using drones that were constructed with the help of these two Iranian defendants. The indictment states that Abedini, who also holds Swiss citizenship, helped the IRGC improve its military drone program by establishing a company that was its primary customer. His company is alleged to have been created for military drone navigation systems to assist the Iranian government. According to the senior prosecutor in Massachusetts, the arrest of these two individuals occurred after FBI specialists found GPS components in the drone that targeted the U.S. base in Jordan, tracing back to this Iranian company. Christina Clark, a member of the federal prosecution team in Boston, told the judge on Tuesday that due to the lengthy prison sentence Sadeghi may face, the Iranian government might take actions to facilitate his escape from the U.S. to Iran. Clark stated that Sadeghi not only violated U.S. laws but has also insulted U.S. national security. However, Sadeghi's American attorney dismissed the prosecutors' speculation about his client's potential flight, arguing that he also holds U.S. citizenship and that his wife and children reside in the U.S. The Boston judge postponed the decision regarding Sadeghi's bail or continued detention to the next hearing. Previously, American politicians close to Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration's limited and ineffective response to Iranian-backed militants following the drone attack on Tower 22 in Jordan. The 'Islamic Resistance of Iraq' militants, considered Iranian proxies in the region, claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.S. base at the border of Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. The Iranian government denied any connection to the attack, but some media close to the Iranian government praised the event as a 'big message' in the 'post-Al-Aqsa storm world,' which occurred three months after the extremist Hamas group's attack on Israel, stating that in this new era, America is being punished.