Iranian-born engineer Mahdi Sadeghi, living in the US, was found guilty of exporting technology for military drones to Iran in violation of international sanctions. A federal jury in Boston convicted the 43-year-old Sadeghi on three charges, including conspiracy to export technology to Iran.
The defendant was acquitted on two charges alleging violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. US District Judge Indira Talwani set Sadeghi's sentencing for October 13. Throughout the trial, defense lawyers argued their client was innocent and had no reason to commit a crime that would jeopardize the life he had built in the US.
Connection to Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini
Prosecutors had charged Sadeghi alongside Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini, owner of a company that produces a navigation system used in military drones in Iran. The system was allegedly used in an attack on a US outpost in Jordan in January 2024 that killed three US soldiers and wounded more than 40 others.
Abedini, arrested in Italy at the request of the US, was released in January 2025 after Iran detained an Italian journalist. The journalist was later freed. However, Sadeghi's case did not include any charges related to the Jordan attack. The judge barred prosecutors from presenting evidence about that incident to avoid "unfair prejudice."
Alleged shell company set up in Switzerland
The trial focused on Sadeghi's efforts to supply technology, particularly sensors, from his employer, global semiconductor company Analog Devices, to Abedini's firm SDRA in Iran. Prosecutors said that on Sadeghi's recommendation, Analog Devices began working with a company Abedini set up in Switzerland in 2019 and shipped electronic components to it. Prosecutors alleged the Swiss company was used as a front to funnel technology to Iran.
The defense argued that all business dealings were legitimate and transparent, and that the Swiss company was a genuine firm focused on motion tracking technology, not a "fake shell" as prosecutors claimed.
Sadeghi's trial was postponed for several months due to concerns about selecting an impartial jury after the outbreak of war in Iran. In his opening statement on June 23, defense attorney Daniel Marx urged jurors to "judge Mr. Sadeghi based on the evidence in this courtroom, not on what is happening in the rest of the world."
