Former FAA contractor indicted over claims that he worked as a secret agent for Iran, DOJ says

The FAA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor has been indicted over claims that he used his position to spy for Iran, the Department of Justice said.

Abouzar Rahmati — a 42-year-old naturalized US citizen born in Iran — is accused of conspiring with Iranian government officials and intelligence operatives to carry out espionage activities from at least December 2017 to June 2024, the indictment says.

Before working for the FAA, Rahmati was a First Lieutenant in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from around June 2009 until roughly May 2010, according to the indictment.

He then sought to obtain a job as a US government contractor, lying about his time with the IRGC in order to do so, the DOJ said.

But by late 2017, Rahmati had agreed to act as an Iranian government agent and was tasked with getting hold of information on the US solar energy industry, per the indictment.

He eventually obtained work with an unnamed company that supported the FAA on a contract related to the “power and electrical architecture of the FAA’s National Airspace System,” the DOJ added.

While working for the company, the department said he downloaded “sensitive non-public” documents related to the FAA and took them to Iran in April 2022.

“These included documents related to the NAS that would give a person unfamiliar with NAS facility engineering a reasonable understanding of how the NAS power and electrical architecture is configured,” the DOJ said.

While using a cover story “based on purported discussions about research with fellow academics,” Rahmati would also go on to obtain “various non-public and open-source materials related to the US solar energy industry,” which he passed on to an Iranian government official, the DOJ said.

Rahmati sent further information about US solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, airports, and air traffic control towers to his brother in April 2022, it said, with his brother alleged to have acted as a middleman in sending files to Iranian intelligence on his behalf.

Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, said: “This indictment describes the reprehensible actions of an individual who allegedly betrayed his country by transferring sensitive US information to a foreign power.”

“This alleged betrayal not only undermines our national security but also puts US jobs and livelihoods at risk,” he added.

The DOJ and the Islamic Republic of Iran did not immediately respond to requests for comment.