Publication:
Related Country:
- Belgium
- China
- United Arab Emirates
The U.S. Department of Justice charged Iranian nationals Hossein Akbari and Reza Amidi and Iranian firm Rah Roshd Company with conspiring to provide U.S.-origin parts for Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), provide material support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and commit money laundering. Akbari is Rah Roshd Company's CEO and Amidi is its commercial manager. The defendants allegedly impersonated representatives of companies based in Belgium and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to purchase U.S.-origin parts for Iranian drones including the Mohajer-6. They also allegedly procured servomotors and a pneumatic mast from China-based companies on behalf of the IRGC Aerospace Force and used shell companies located in the UAE to pay for the parts. Both individuals remain at large. Amidi previously served as the commercial manager of Quds Aviation Industries (QAI), an Iranian state-owned aerospace company.
