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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an indictment against former Federal Aviation Administration contractor Abouzar Rahmati for passing non-public information about the U.S. national airspace system (NAS) to the government of Iran, as a part of his larger role as an alleged “agent of the Iranian government,” according to a Sept. 27 announcement by the DOJ.
The indictment alleges that Rahmati conspired with Iranian foreign intelligence officials and senior members of the government to collect information pertaining to the NAS, specifically about air traffic control equipment and infrastructure. The charges, which indicate he was active in this role as recently as June 2024, come at a critical time for tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The indictment coincided with the Sept. 27 Israeli-led assassination of the leader of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, after which Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles directly at Israel on Oct. 1 — a major escalation since this broader conflict began nearly a year ago with the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas. This latest strike brings one of the United States’ long-time adversaries directly into the widening Middle East conflict and underscores the potential fragility of critical infrastructure already battered by challenges to its resiliency.
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