A former engineer at a semiconductor manufacturer pleaded not guilty on Friday to U.S. charges that he illegally procured technology for an Iranian firm that made a key component of a drone used in a January attack by Iran-backed militants in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members. Mahdi Sadeghi, who was fired by Analog Devices after his Dec. 16 arrest, pleaded not guilty during a hearing in federal court in Boston to charges that he engaged in a scheme to violate U.S. export control and sanctions laws.
He entered the plea nearly two weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against the dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and the head of an Iranian navigation systems manufacturer, Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested in Italy.