Iranian-American FAA contractor pleads guilty to acting as agent for Tehran

An Iranian-American man who worked as a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pleaded guilty on Wednesday to acting as an agent of the Iranian government without notifying US authorities, the Justice Department said.

Abouzar Rahmati, 42, a naturalized US citizen and resident of Great Falls, Virginia, admitted to conspiring to work with Iranian officials and intelligence operatives from at least December 2017 through June 2024. He faces up to 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government and five years for conspiracy.

According to court documents, Rahmati offered his services to Tehran in 2017 and later traveled to Iran, where he met with intelligence officers and agreed to obtain information for them about the US solar energy sector. He also gained employment with a US company contracting for the FAA, where he downloaded at least 172 gigabytes of sensitive access-controlled data.

The files included documents related to the National Aerospace System (NAS), airport surveillance radar, and radio frequency data. The DOJ said Rahmati took the data to Iran and handed it over to Iranian officials in April 2022.

Abouzar Rahmati
Abouzar Rahmati

"Rahmati agreed to obtain information about the US solar energy industry and FAA data, and deliver it to Iranian officials," prosecutors said in a statement. He also used a cover story involving academic research to hide his contacts.

"This defendant knowingly acted on behalf of the Government of Iran and took steps to place sensitive information into its hands," said Assistant Attorney General Sue Bai, who leads the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Rahmati’s sentencing is scheduled for August 26. The FBI and FAA's counterintelligence division were involved in the investigation.

"The Iranian government continues to target American institutions for infiltration," said US Attorney Edward Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia. "We will hold accountable anyone who puts our national security at risk."