Boston: A Massachusetts man was convicted yesterday in federal court in Boston following a 14-day jury trial for charges related to a scheme to illegally export sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran. Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, 43, a dual U.S.-Iranian national of Natick, Massachusetts, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR); and two counts of violation of the IEEPA and the ITSR. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Oct. 13. According to United States Department of Justice, Sadeghi was charged by criminal complaint in December 2024 alongside Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Mohammad Abedini, of Tehran, Iran, and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury shortly thereafter. They were again charged in a superseding indictment in December 2025. Abedini remains a fugitive in wanted status. This guilty verdict demonstr ates the National Security Divisions commitment to holding accountable those who violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. For years, Sadeghi conspired to and did send sensitive microelectronic parts from the United States to Iran through a company in Europe despite receiving training on U.S. sanctions and export law. This defendant exploited his access to sophisticated U.S. technology to help funnel sensitive electronic components to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions and export control laws. These laws exist to protect our national security by preventing these high-tech components from reaching hostile foreign actors and terrorist organizations. This verdict makes clear that individuals who conspire to evade U.S. sanctions will be held accountable, said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. This verdict should serve as a wake-up call to those in corporate America that if you violate our countrys export laws, you will not get away with it, said Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks of the FBI Boston Field Office. Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi learned this when he conspired to send electronic components to Iran, one of the worlds most infamous state sponsors of terrorism. According to court documents, Abedini is the founder and managing director of an Iranian company, Sanat Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak Co. (SDRA or SADRA), that manufactures navigation modules used in the IRGCs military drone program. SDRAs main business is the sale of a proprietary navigation system-known as the Sepehr Navigation System-to the IRGC, which the United States designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) on April 15, 2019. Sadeghi was employed by a Massachusetts-based microelectronics manufacturer and was one of the founders of a Massachusetts-based technology company that specializes in wearable sensors for fitness applications. Sadeghi and, allegedly, Abedini and others conspired to evade U.S. export control and sanctions laws by procuring U .S. origin goods from this manufacturer and exporting them to Iran. In 2016, Sadeghi traveled to Iran to request funding for his technology company from the Iranian National Elites Foundation (INEF), an Iranian governmental organization. In exchange for funding, Sadeghi and others created a second company in Iran and entered into a contract with SDRA for the purchase of SDRAs technology. Sadeghi helped Abedini procure U.S. export-controlled electronic components for reexport to Iran. Abedini established a Switzerland front company for SDRA, Illumove SA, to facilitate this scheme. With Sadeghis assistance, Abedini, through Illumove, entered into a contract with a U.S. company to develop a product to evaluate electronic components. Sadeghi caused U.S.-origin goods to be transferred to Iran, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and inertial measurement units. Abedini also allegedly provided material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the IRGC Aerospace Force. Since 2014, SDRA has had multiple proje cts with the IRGC Aerospace Force. Between 2021 and 2022, approximately 99% of SDRAs sales of the Sepehr Navigation System were to the IRGCs Aerospace Force. On Jan. 28, 2024, three U.S. service members were killed, and more than 40 others were injured, in a drone attack by IRGC-backed militants on a military base in northern Jordan. Analysis of the drone showed it was an Iranian Shahed UAV with a navigation system manufactured by Abedinis company. The charges of violation of the IEEPA and the ITSR, and conspiracy to do so, each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the District of Massachusetts National Security Unit; Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Divisions Counterin telligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.