Abouzar Rahmati, an FAA contractor, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Iranian intelligence, providing sensitive US aviation and solar energy information to Iran from 2017-2024. He faces potential prison time.
Rahmati’s Activities with Iranian Intelligence
During that period, Rahmati met with Iranian intelligence in Iran, communicated with Iranian authorities making use of a cover tale to hide his conduct, acquired employment with an FAA professional with access to sensitive, non-public details about the United States air travel market, and gotten and offered open-source and non-public materials about the solar power industry in the US to knowledge officers.
He additionally supplied additional details about solar power, photovoltaic panels, the FAA, United States airport terminals, and US air traffic control towers to his brother living in Iran in April 2022, the DOJ included, so his brother could offer the files to knowledge authorities on Rahmati’s part.
Solar Energy Information Shared with Iran
When he returned to the US in early 2018, Rahmati got open-source and personal products associated with the United States solar sector, then offered them to the office of Iran’s Vice Head of state for Scientific Research and Modern technology.
The DOJ claimed Rahmati provided his solutions to Iran in August 2017 through a former associate that was an elderly Iranian government official who previously operated at the country’s Ministry of Knowledge and Protection.
Sensitive FAA Data Downloaded
While working as an FAA specialist in the United States, Rahmati downloaded and install at the very least 175 GB of data, consisting of sensitive access-controlled FAA documents relating to the National Aerospace System (NAS), NAS Flight terminal Monitoring Radar systems and superhigh frequency information, the DOJ stated.
A naturalized United States person living in Great Falls, Virginia, begged guilty on Wednesday to collaborating with Iranian government and intelligence authorities on their behalf in the US as a professional for the Federal Air Travel Management (FAA) between 2017 and 2024.
Guilty Plea in Federal Court
The Division of Justice (DOJ) stated 42-year-old Abouzar Rahmati begged guilty in government court to conspiring to act and functioning as a representative of the Iranian federal government in the US without prior alert to the Attorney General.
1 Abouzar Rahmati2 espionage
3 FAA contractor
4 Iranian intelligence
5 national aerospace system
6 solar energy
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