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According to the Department of Justice, a former FAA contractor, Abouzar Rahmati, was indicted for acting as an illegal agent for Iran.
Rahmati, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Virginia, allegedly engaged with Iranian officials from December 2017 to June 2024. Previously, he served as a 1st Lieutenant in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. After leaving the IRGC, Rahmati reportedly lied about his military service to obtain a U.S. government contractor position.
In August 2017, prosecutors allege Rahmati began communicating with a senior Iranian official he knew from college. By December, he traveled to Iran, met with intelligence agents, and agreed to gather U.S. solar energy industry information.
Rahmati later became a contractor for the FAA’s National Airspace System, which gave him access to sensitive data while he acted as an Iranian spy. In April 2022, Rahmati allegedly downloaded confidential FAA and National Airspace System documents on power and electrical architecture and provided them to the Iranian government. He also shared additional information on solar energy, U.S. airports, and air traffic control systems.
Breaking: DOJ has indicted a former FAA contractor, Abouzar Rahmati, who lives in Great Falls, Virginia for acting as an illegal agent of the Iranian regime.
Rahmati was an IRGC First Lieutenant who lied about his service to immigrate to the U.S. and gain gov’t employment. pic.twitter.com/rxFfQ72g8U
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) September 27, 2024
“As alleged, the defendant conspired with Iranian officials and intelligence operatives, even lying to obtain employment as a U.S. government contractor only to then share sensitive government materials with Iran,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said. “When undisclosed agents of Iran or any other foreign government seek to infiltrate American companies or government agencies, the Justice Department will use every available tool to identify them and bring them to justice.”
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