A former contractor with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has pleaded guilty to working as an agent for the Iranian government, admitting to spying on U.S. airports and the energy industry to share information with the terror-supporting nation.
A press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that 42-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen Abouzar Rahmati was spying for the Iranian government from December 2017 to June 2024.
Former FAA Contractor Pleads Guilty to Illegally Acting as an Agent of the Iranian Governmenthttps://t.co/ChC9cfCoGl@USAEdMartin @FBIWFO pic.twitter.com/Yz1ktLsvSg
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) April 16, 2025
The press release noted that Rahmati did this by acting “on their behalf in the United States, including by meeting with Iranian intelligence officers in Iran, communicating with Iranian intelligence officers and government officials using a cover story to hide his conduct, obtaining employment with an FAA contractor with access to sensitive non-public information about the U.S. aviation sector, and obtaining open-source and non-public materials about the U.S. solar energy industry and providing it to Iranian intelligence officers.”
🇺🇸🇮🇷 FAA CONTRACTOR BUSTED FOR SPYING—FED THE IRANIANS 175 GIGS OF SENSITIVE DATA
Abouzar Rahmati, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former FAA contractor, just pleaded guilty to spying for Iran.
For seven years, he funneled 175 gigabytes of sensitive aviation and energy intel… https://t.co/HMvn1oGhdP pic.twitter.com/kHWsVUdmzZ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 17, 2025
Rahmati didn’t just agree to a request to spy for Iran — in fact, he actually approached them and offered his services, making contact through a senior Iranian government official to become an agent for the terror-supporting nation. Even more shocking is the fact that Rahmati is a former 1st Lt in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been designated as a terrorist group in the United States — leading to questions as to how he was able to get hired as a contractor for a U.S. government agency.
Someone 'splain to me how a former Iranian IRGC 1st Lieutenant becomes a US citizen, gets a job at FAA, spying for Iran?!
How does he pass a background check?!
FAA contractor spied on US airports, energy in for Iran @FoxNews https://t.co/mygRhPIx9b
— Rebekah Koffler (@rebekah0132) September 28, 2024
After making contact with the Iranian government, Rahmati traveled to Iran in December 2017 to meet with “Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials,” where he ultimately “agreed to obtain information about the US solar energy industry, to provide that information to Iranian officials, and to conduct future communications under a cover story based on purported discussions about research with fellow academics,” according to the DOJ press release.
Rahmati later returned to the United States in 2018 and was able to obtain information from the solar industry and exploit his employment with the FAA to download files related to the National Aerospace System and Airport Surveillance Radar Systems. He then reportedly shared that information with the Iranian government.
Rahmati is scheduled to be sentenced on August 26 and is facing a maximum of 10 years in prison.
