Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

US files to seize nearly $585k in crypto from man accused of selling drone navigation systems to Iran

Mohammad Abedini is charged, in part, with materially supporting a foreign terror group that resulted in death.

Justice Department
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Robert F. Kennedy Building. Credit: DOJ Office of the Inspector General.

The U.S. government has filed to seize $584,741 in cryptocurrency from Mohammad Abedini, whom it accuses of managing a company that sells navigation systems to the Iranian regime, which it uses for military drones.

The systems were allegedly made specifically for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated terror group.

Italian law enforcement detained Abedini, of Tehran, on Dec. 16, 2024, but released him in January, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which said that the 39-year-old is believed to be in Iran.

He is charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death and for a scheme to procure sensitive U.S. technology used in military drones.

“In January 2024, three U.S. service members were killed, and more than 40 others were injured, in a drone attack by IRGC-backed militants on a military base located in northern Jordan, known as Tower 22,” the U.S. government said.

Per court documents, an Iranian Shahed drone was recovered with a navigation system manufactured by Abedini’s company.

A lawyer for the suspect’s ex-wife stated that his client and her family were “detained 10.5 months for a crime their father/ex-husband committed.”
“My opponent has no history of standing up for the Jewish community. I’ve spent 30 years earning trust through substantive legal and legislative work,” Esther Panitch told JNS.
“Each incident documented in the audit meant pain, suffering and anguish for a human being, a fellow Canadian,” the Jewish nonprofit said.
Elizabeth Barcohana, chair of Jewish engagement at the California Republican Party, told JNS that the statement is “abhorrent and not in touch with the concerns of California families.”
The Islamic Republic fired more than 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and 2,200 drones at the Gulf state.
“As these incidents become more normalized, they erode public safety and our way of life as Canadians,” stated the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.