MA Man Charged In Iran-Backed Drone Strike Investigation Pleads Not Guilty

NATICK, MA — The man whose Natick home was raided on Dec. 16 as part of an investigation into an Iranian-backed drone strike has pleaded not guilty to charges.

Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, 42, a dual U.S.-Iranian national, of Natick, was arraigned on Dec. 27 in U.S. District Court in Boston. He pleaded not guilty to four counts that he conspired to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other regulations on Iranian transactions, the MetroWest Daily News first reported.

He has been held without bail up to this point, and a detention hearing is set for Thursday.

Sadeghi and and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Mohammad Abedini, 38, of Tehran, Iran, have been charged with "conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws," federal officials said.

Abedini is also charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), that resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members who were killed by a one-way attack drone on a military base in Jordan.

He was also arrested on Dec. 16 in Italy by Italian authorities at the request of the United States.

• Read more about the case here: MA Man Charged In Iran-Backed Drone Strike Investigation: FBI