A Massachusetts man has been convicted of conspiring to unlawfully export electronic components to Iran, a violation of U.S. sanctions. Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who was employed by the global electronics company Analog Devices, was found guilty on Monday by a jury on three of the five charges.
Prosecutors alleged that Sadeghi aided an Iranian business associate whose Tehran-based company develops navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The scheme, according to authorities, involved the creation of a front company in Switzerland to circumvent American export control laws.
Sadeghi, a 43-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, did not testify during the trial. He lost his position at Analog Devices due to the charges. He was arrested in December 2024. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter told the jury that the defendant was aware of the prohibition on sending goods, particularly the components in question, to Iran and conspired with his associate to do so.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan stated that evidence including documents, text messages, and photographs demonstrated that the illegal actions were a direct result of the relationship between Sadeghi and his associate. "The evidence established that he knew what Abedini was doing because he told him in writing," Dolan said. "He helped him anyway."
During the trial, Sadeghi's attorney, William Fick, argued that the prosecution's case was flawed and lacked logical consistency. He contended that Sadeghi was merely offering advice to a friend on how to conduct business with a semiconductor company and was not responsible for procuring parts for the associate. Fick also questioned the prosecution's assertion that the Swiss company was a front and argued that there was no proof the components ultimately reached Iran.
Prosecutors had sought to introduce evidence connecting the technology to an Iranian drone used in a 2024 attack that resulted in the deaths of three U.S. troops in Jordan. However, the judge ruled to exclude this specific evidence before the trial began. The ruling limited prosecutors to presenting general information about the associate's company and its technology's potential military applications, including for drones. At a February hearing, prosecutors acknowledged they did not have evidence that Sadeghi was aware of the alleged use of the technology in the drone involved in the Jordan attack.
The second defendant in the case, identified in court documents as Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Abedini, was not part of the trial. He is believed to be in Iran. Abedini faces separate charges of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which resulted in the deaths of three service members. Abedini was arrested in Italy on a U.S. warrant in December 2024 but was released a month later and returned to Iran. His arrest in Italy occurred shortly after Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was detained in Iran, leading to speculation that Sala's detention was a tactic to secure Abedini's release. Sala returned to Italy in January 2025.
Sadeghi, who showed no outward reaction to the verdict, will remain free until his sentencing, scheduled for October 13. He had been a father of two and a respected employee at Analog Devices before the charges led to his job loss.