Iran protests US arrest of nationals over tech export

TEHRAN: Tehran has formally protested the arrests of two Iranians in Italy and the United States accused of transferring sensitive US technology to Iran, local media reported.

US prosecutors on Monday charged Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi and Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi with “conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran in violation of US export control and sanctions laws”, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.

The statement added that the illegally exported technology was used in a January drone attack that killed three US servicemen in Jordan. Iran denied any involvement in the attack, dismissing the claims as “baseless accusations”.

“We consider both the cruel and unilateral US sanctions against Iran and these arrests to be contrary to all international laws and standards,” foreign ministry official Vahid Jalalzadeh told the Tasnim news agency late Dec 21.

Jalalzadeh said the ministry had “invited” the Italian charge d’affaires and the Swiss ambassador to Tehran – who represents US interests there – to “declare its protests to the arrests”.

Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, 38, was arrested on Dec 16 in Italy by Italian authorities at the request of the US, the US department of justice said.

It identified Sadeghi as a 42-year-old dual US-Iranian national who was arrested in the US.