Abouzar Rahmati, a 42-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen and former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor, has been indicted for allegedly acting as an illegal agent of the Iranian government. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Rahmati conspired with Iranian officials and intelligence operatives from at least December 2017 through June 2024. He allegedly met with Iranian intelligence officers in Iran, communicated with co-conspirators using a cover story to conceal his activities, and obtained employment with an FAA contractor to access sensitive non-public information. Rahmati is accused of providing Iranian intelligence with both open-source and non-public materials about the U.S. solar energy industry and sensitive FAA documents related to the National Airspace System (NAS) citeturn0search0.
Prior to his employment with the FAA, Rahmati served as a First Lieutenant in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from June 2009 to May 2010. The IRGC is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. government. Rahmati allegedly lied about his military service with the IRGC to obtain employment as a U.S. government contractor citeturn0search0.
The indictment further alleges that Rahmati used his position to download sensitive FAA documents and provided them to the Iranian government. He also allegedly shared additional information relating to solar energy, solar panels, U.S. airports, and air traffic control with Iranian officials citeturn0search2.
Rahmati made his initial court appearance in Washington, D.C., and the case is ongoing.
