Virginia FAA contractor allegedly spied for Iran, shared private info on US airports, energy industry: DOJ

A erstwhile Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor was indicted Friday for acting arsenic an amerciable cause for the Iranian government, the Department of Justice said.

According to a DOJ release, from astatine slightest December 2017 done June 2024, 42-year-old Abouzar Rahmati allegedly met with Iranian authorities officials and acted connected their behalf.

Rahmati, a naturalized U.S. national and nonmigratory of Great Falls, Virginia, antecedently was an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 1st Lt., a subdivision of the Iranian Armed Forces, from June 2009 to May 2010. The IRGC is simply a designated violent radical by the U.S. government.

After being discharged from the IRGC, the indictment alleges that Rahmati lied to the U.S. authorities regarding his subject work with the IRGC successful bid to summation employment arsenic a U.S. contractor.

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Abouzar Rahmati has been indicted for acting arsenic an cause of the Iranian government. (U.S. Department of Justice)

In Aug. 2017, prosecutors allege that Rahmati began communicating with a elder Iranian authorities authoritative with whom helium had antecedently attended college.

Four months later, Rahmati traveled to Iran and met with quality operatives. During the meetings, helium agreed to get and supply them with accusation connected the U.S. solar vigor industry.

Following the archetypal meetings, Rahmati got to enactment arsenic a spy for the Iranian government. Prosecutors said that helium yet became a contractor for FAA’s National Airspace System (NAS), which allowed him to beryllium privy to delicate information.

Authorities alleged that successful April 2022, Rahmati downloaded backstage documents related to the FAA and the NAS powerfulness and electrical architecture and passed them on to Iran's government.

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He besides gave the Government of Iran further accusation relating to star energy, star panels, the FAA, U.S. airports, and U.S. aerial postulation control.

A Federal Aviation Administration motion hangs successful the operation astatine John F. Kennedy International Airport, March 16, 2017, successful New York.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

"As alleged, the suspect conspired with Iranian officials and quality operatives, adjacent lying to get employment arsenic a U.S. authorities contractor lone to past stock delicate authorities materials with Iran," Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said. "When undisclosed agents of Iran oregon immoderate different overseas authorities question to infiltrate American companies oregon authorities agencies, the Justice Department volition usage each disposable instrumentality to place them and bring them to justice."

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Rahmani made his archetypal quality successful the District of Columbia connected Friday afternoon.