Former FAA contractor Abouzar Rahmati pleads guilty to spying for Iran, sharing private info on US airports, energy industry

Abouzar Rahmati, a naturalized US citizen residing in Great Falls, Virginia, admitted guilt on Wednesday for collaborating with Iranian government and intelligence officials while working as a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from 2017 to 2024.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the 42-year-old Rahmati pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring and acting as an agent of the Iranian government in the US without prior notification to the Attorney General. Prior to his employment with the FAA, Rahmati served as a 1st Lt. in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist group by the US government.

Court documents revealed that Rahmati worked closely with Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials in the US between December 2017 and June 2024. During this period, he traveled to Iran to meet with intelligence operatives and government officials, communicated with Iranian authorities using a cover story, and obtained employment with an FAA contractor to gain access to sensitive information about the US aviation sector. Rahmati also provided open-source and non-public materials about the US solar energy industry to Iranian intelligence officers.

In August 2017, Rahmati offered his services to Iran through a former colleague who held a senior position in the Iranian government. He later traveled to Iran to meet with intelligence operatives and agreed to gather and provide information about the US solar industry to Iranian officials. Upon returning to the US in early 2018, Rahmati obtained and provided private and open-source materials related to the US solar industry to Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology.

While working as an FAA contractor, Rahmati downloaded at least 175 GB of files, including sensitive FAA documents related to the National Aerospace System and Airport Surveillance Radar systems. He stored these files on removable media and took them to Iran in April 2022, where he provided them to government officials. Additionally, Rahmati shared information about solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, US airports, and air traffic control towers with his brother in Iran, who then passed the files to intelligence officials on Rahmati’s behalf.

Abouzar Rahmati is set to be sentenced on August 26, facing a maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government and up to five years for conspiracy. The case highlights the serious consequences of espionage and unauthorized collaboration with foreign entities within the US.