Two Iranians charged with procuring US drone parts
Two Iranian businessmen have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to procure US parts to build military attack drones, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
Hossein Akbari, 63, and Reza Amidi, 62, are charged with money laundering and providing material support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
According to court documents, Akbari is chief executive of a company called Rah Roshd while Amidi is the commercial manager.
The Justice Department said Akbari and Amidi, who previously worked at Qods Aviation Industries (QAI), an Iranian state-owned aerospace company, are both at large.
"The defendants conspired to obtain US-origin parts needed to manufacture drones for military use in Iran and send those parts to Iran in violation of export control laws," US Attorney John Durham said in a statement.
"The IRGC and QAI have been core players in the Iranian military regime's production of drones, which threaten the lives of civilians, US personnel and our country's allies."
According to the Justice Department, Akbari and Amidi have evaded US sanctions since 2020 to procure US parts for use in Iranian-made drones, including the Mohajer-6.
A Mohajer-6 drone used by the Russian military was shot down by the Ukranian Air Force in September 2022 and found to have parts manufactured by several US-based companies, it said.
cl/des
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
7 minutes ago
- CNN
Ukrainian boxer to Trump: ‘Open your eyes'
Ukrainian boxer to Trump: 'Open your eyes' World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk shared a message for President Trump in an interview with CNN, asking him to help Ukraine as it continues its fight against a full-scale Russian invasion. 00:54 - Source: CNN Why China doesn't need the US auto market If there is one thing to be learned from Auto Shanghai - China's largest automobile show - it's that China has dozens of car brands that can rival Western ones. BYD surpassed Tesla's profits, but other EVs like those made by Zeekr, Xiaomi and Chery are quickly joining the race. CNN's Marc Stewart took a rare test drive of Zeekr's new 7GT. 00:44 - Source: CNN Analysis: Trump is in a crisis of his own making Trump tells President Vladimir Putin to stop after Russia launched its deadliest wave of attacks on Kyiv in nine months. This comes days after Trump said the US would walk out on efforts to make a peace deal in Ukraine if it didn't see progress. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh breaks down the latest. 01:03 - Source: CNN Russia launches strikes across Ukraine Russia launched waves of drones and ballistic missiles at multiple targets across a broad swath of Ukraine overnight killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv and wounding around 40 across the country. 00:32 - Source: CNN German leader on 'terrible' impact of Trump's tariffs In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz talks about the impact President Trump's tariffs are having on the auto industry. 01:13 - Source: CNN Greta Thunberg sails to Gaza Greta Thunberg has set sail with eleven other activists to Gaza. The activist group they're part of, The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is attempting to bring aid and raise international awareness over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the territory. 00:59 - Source: CNN Record rain floods Mexico City, traps people Mexico City was hit with record rainfall that didn't relent for more than five hours Monday night, marking the heaviest rain since 2017, according to water management officials. CNN's Valeria León walks a flooded avenue of the nation's capital after emergency crews worked through the night to rescue several trapped drivers. 00:43 - Source: CNN Gaza aid distribution turns deadly for third consecutive day For a third consecutive day, Palestinians came under fire while trying to receive aid from a distribution site in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser hospital, at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured on June 3. 00:56 - Source: CNN Analysis: Why Ukraine's drone attack on Russia just changed the world CNN's Jim Sciutto explains why Ukraine's large-scale drone attack on Russian air bases thousands of miles behind the front lines struck fear into the heart of every global superpower 01:05 - Source: CNN Tomatoes fly at Colombia's largest food fight Around 20,000 revellers gathered in Sutamarchán, Colombia, to throw over 45 tonnes of tomatoes at each other. The Gran Tomatina festival, now in its 15th year, is hosted to celebrate the economy of Sutamarchán, which is centred around tomato production. Mayor Miguel Andrés Rodríguez said "between 70 and 80 percent of families [in Sutamarchán] live off tomatoes. This is a tribute to them." The festival uses tomatoes which are overripe, or otherwise not suitable for consumption. 00:30 - Source: CNN Palestinians shot dead near Gaza aid hub The Palestinian health ministry, hospital officials and multiple eyewitnesses say deadly gunfire killed dozens of Palestinians near an aid distribution site in Gaza on Sunday, with Israel's military denying that its troops fired 'within or near' the aid site. CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond brings you up to speed on what we know about the weekend chaos. 02:31 - Source: CNN Palestinians describe deadly shooting near aid center in Gaza CNN spoke to multiple witnesses who recounted the deadly chaos that unfolded near a US-backed aid center in southern Gaza after more than 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The health ministry blamed the Israeli military for the deaths while other witnesses claimed that local security personnel had also opened fire. Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the aid center, said there had been no gunfire at the site and Israel Defense Forces denied firing on civilians at or close to the site, calling such accusations 'false reports.' 00:55 - Source: CNN Palestinian UN envoy breaks down talking about Gaza's children The Palestinian ambassador to the UN made an emotional address, saying more than 1,300 children have been killed in Gaza since Israel ended the ceasefire in March. 01:19 - Source: CNN Political candidate wears body armor daily CNN's David Culver met César Gutiérrez Priego as he was readying to campaign for office in Mexico City. Gutiérrez Priego, who is running for a seat on the Supreme Court in Mexico, shows Culver the safety precautions he takes with political violence in Mexico at an all-time high. See Culver's full reporting on CNN. 00:53 - Source: CNN Harvard students and faculty speak out against Trump Harvard students and faculty spoke to CNN ahead of commencement as Donald Trump said the university should cap foreign enrollment. The Trump administration has recently sought to cancel $100 million in contracts with the school. 02:03 - Source: CNN Palestinians desperate for food rush US-backed aid site Scores of people rushed over fencing and through barricades in southern Gaza on the first day a US-Israeli-backed aid site was opened. CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains the desperate humanitarian situation that remains in the region. 01:22 - Source: CNN Journalists spit on at Jerusalem Day flag march Ultra-nationalist Israeli Jews chanted anti-Arab slogans as they marched through Jerusalem's Old City to mark Jerusalem Day. CNN's Oren Liebermann describes heavy police presence on the ground. Members of the crowd were seen spitting on journalists, including a CNN producer. 01:50 - Source: CNN Finland's president responds to Russian military activity along border CNN's Erin Burnett speaks with Finland's President Alexander Stubb about his country ramping up its military to deter potential Russian aggression. 02:16 - Source: CNN King Charles stresses Canada's 'self determination' amid pressure from US King Charles III delivered the ceremonial Speech from the Throne in the Canadian Senate. The address marks only the second time in Canadian history that the reigning sovereign has opened parliament, and the third time that the British monarch has delivered the address. 00:42 - Source: CNN Huge ship refloated after nearly crashing into house A larger container ship has been refloated after nearly crashing into a house in Norway. According to local police, the navigator had fallen asleep at the helm. 00:42 - Source: CNN Vehicle plows into crowd in Liverpool Police in the United Kingdom say a man has been arrested after a car plowed into Liverpool fans celebrating during the soccer club's Premier League trophy parade. 01:14 - Source: CNN
CNN
24 minutes ago
- CNN
Putin promised to make Ukraine pay for its airbase attacks. What does he have left?
The operation, codenamed 'Spiderweb,' was 18 months in the making. Dozens of hidden drones emerged from trucks parked in Russia, racing to airfields thousands of miles from Ukraine and destroying at least 12 bombers. Although the operation was a huge boost for Ukrainian morale, many in the country braced for Moscow's retaliation. Their fears sharpened when Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump on Wednesday that the Kremlin would 'have to respond' to the attack. Russia's initial retaliation began Thursday night, in the form of a massive drone and missile strike on Kyiv and across the country. Russia's Ministry of Defense described the strikes as a 'response' to Kyiv's 'terrorist acts.' The attack was punishing, but not qualitatively different to what Ukraine has grown used to over three years of war. Olha, a 67-year-old resident of Kyiv who asked to be identified only by her first name, told CNN that if Thursday night's strikes were Russia's retaliation, then Ukraine faces 'many such retaliations – once a month, even more.' Russia's response so far to Ukraine's extraordinary operation has raised questions about Putin's ability to escalate the war and exact the retribution that many of his supporters have clamored for. And it has left Ukrainians wondering if it has already felt the brunt of Russia's response, or if the worst is yet to come. In determining Russia's retaliation, analysts say, Putin has faced several constraints. One is political: Mounting a large-scale, innovative response to the 'Spiderweb' operation would be akin to admitting that Ukraine had inflicted a serious blow against Russia – an impression the Kremlin has been at pains to avoid, said Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington DC. In a meeting with government ministers on Wednesday, Putin received a lengthy briefing on recent bridge collapses in Kursk and Bryansk, blamed by Russia on Ukraine. Yet, aside from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's reference to recent 'criminal provocations' by Kyiv, there was no mention of the 'Spiderweb' operation. In Russian state media's coverage of Putin's call Wednesday with Trump, little was made of the Russian president's pledge to 'respond' to Ukraine's attack. Instead, the reports focused on the outcome of recent peace talks in Istanbul. Stepanenko said this is part of a deliberate strategy. 'Putin is trying to make this go away and hide this failure yet again,' she told CNN. She said a high-profile response 'would contradict the Kremlin's strategic objective of making it all go away and sweeping this under the rug.' Putin has also faced material constraints. Whereas Russia's near-daily strikes on Ukraine used to involve just dozens of drones, they now routinely use more than 400. A day before Ukraine's 'Spiderweb' operation, on May 31, Russia launched 472 drones at Ukraine – a record in the three-year war, which was surpassed again during Sunday night's attacks, which used 479 drones. 'Russia's response is constrained by the amount of force they're constantly using,' said William Alberque, a former NATO arms control official now at the Stimson Center think tank. 'How would you know if Russia was actually retaliating? What would be more brutal than them destroying apartment flats or attacking shopping malls? What would escalation look like?' Russia's pro-war community of Telegram bloggers was not short of ideas. Some prominent channels said that Kyiv's strikes on Moscow's nuclear-capable bombers warranted a nuclear strike on Ukraine. Others called for a strike using the Oreshnik ballistic missile, which was unveiled by Putin last year, and has so far been used only once against Ukraine. Although Putin often praises his new missile, it has limited uses, said Mark Galeotti, a leading Russia analyst. 'The Oreshnik is really geared for a particular kind of target. It's not that accurate… and it's not a bunker-buster,' he told CNN, meaning the missile would struggle to take out key manufacturing and decision-making hubs that Ukraine has moved deep underground. 'If you're going to deploy it… you want it to have a target that's worthy of the name.' One target could be Ukraine's security services, the SBU, which masterminded the 'Spiderweb' operation, he said. 'But that's not something you can do quickly,' he cautioned. 'In some ways, Putin has already swept away most of the escalation rungs at his disposal, which means that he doesn't have the option for clear punishment.' In a sign that Moscow's 'retaliation' may be ongoing, Russia's Ministry of Defense said it had struck a Ukrainian airfield in the western Rivne region on Sunday night – a week after Ukraine's attacks on Russian airfields. The ministry said the attack was 'one of the retaliatory strikes' for Kyiv's 'terrorist attacks' against Russia's airfields, suggesting there may be more to come. Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's air force, said the attack on the airfield was 'one of the biggest ever carried out by Russia.' Although air defenses 'performed very well,' he said it was 'impossible to shoot down everything.' Although Putin may be constrained in his ability to respond to Ukraine's spectacular operation with one of Russia's own, this may not matter on the battlefield, said Galeotti. 'From a political perspective… it's the Ukrainians who demonstrate that they are the nimble, imaginative, effective ones, and the Russians are just thuggish brutes who continue to grind along,' he said. 'But from the military perspective, in some ways, that's fine.' While Ukraine may have the initiative in terms of headlines and spectacle, Russia still has the initiative on the battlefield. Russian troops have opened a new front in Ukraine's northern Sumy region and are now just 12 miles from the main city. And on Sunday, Moscow claimed that its forces had advanced into the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk for the first time, after months of clashes. The question is whether 'Putin is willing to accept whatever damage happens on the home front, precisely for his slow attrition grind forward,' said Galeotti. Alberque, of the Stimson Center, said a lot rests on whether Ukraine has been weaving more 'Spiderwebs,' or whether its drone attack was a one-off. 'The fact that this operation was a year- and-a-half in the planning – how many other operations are a year-in right now?' he asked. Two days after the drone attack, Ukraine's SBU unveiled another operation – its third attempt to blow up the bridge connecting Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula. The bridge over the Kerch Strait was not significantly damaged, but the attack reinforced the SBU's commitment to impressing upon Moscow that there are costs to continuing its war. If 'humiliating' operations like those continue, Putin will come under greater pressure to deliver a response that is different in kind, not just degree, Alberque said. 'Putin is such a creature of strongman politics,' he added. '(The Kremlin) is going to look for other ways to strike back, to show the Russian people that Putin is a great wartime president who is inflicting horrible damage on his enemy, rather than a victim of these spectacular Ukrainian attacks.' CNN's Kosta Gak and Victoria Butenko contributed reporting.
Newsweek
26 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Ukraine's F-16 Took Down Russian Fighter Jet in 'Historic First': Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. An F-16 fighter jet given to Ukraine reportedly shot down an advanced Russian plane thanks to the assistance of a Swedish reconnaissance aircraft. German newspaper Bild said the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 jet had been downed in the northeast of the country in an operation it described as a "historic first." Earlier, Ukraine's Air Force had said Saturday it had downed a Su-35 in Russia's Kursk Oblast, although it gave no further details. The details of the incident reported by Bild and Ukrainian social media users have not been independently verified. Newsweek reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment. This image from May 26, 2025, shows an F16 fighter jet leaving Volkel Air Base on its way to be handed over to Ukraine. This image from May 26, 2025, shows an F16 fighter jet leaving Volkel Air Base on its way to be handed over to Ukraine. ROBINWhy It Matters The fourth-generation F-16s arrived in Ukraine to much fanfare after the Biden administration finally allowed Kyiv's allies to provide them in a move that was hoped to change the battlefield calculus. If confirmed, the operation in which an F-16 worked with a Swedish reconnaissance plane to down a Russian fighter would highlight a new level in Ukraine's aviation capabilities. What To Know During a fight on Saturday in the northeastern Sumy region, Ukraine's Air Force used its fighter jets to bomb Russian positions inside the country and in Russia's nearby Kursk region, Bild reported. The outlet said Russia sent a high-tech Sukhoi Su-35 "air superiority fighter" into battle to down the Ukrainian fighter jets, but the Russian pilot "flew into an ambush." Ukraine had deployed a Swedish Saab 340 AEW&C (Early Warning and Control) reconnaissance aircraft, which had been discreetly tracking the Russian jet from hundreds of miles away. The location of yesterday's shoot down of a Russian Su-35 by a Ukrainian F-16 was fairly deep into Russian territory. We must credit the skill and bravery here. — Kyiv Insider (@KyivInsider) June 8, 2025 When it was close enough, the Ukrainian F-16 pilot used the necessary data to fire an AIM-120 missile at the Su-35, a 4.5 generation jet nicknamed the "Super Flanker." The Russian plane crashed about 10 miles inside Russia, near the city of Korenevo in the Kursk Oblast. However, the pilot ejected to safety, according to Bild and the Ukrainian Telegram channel Stugna. The Oryx website, which tracks equipment losses in the war, posted a still image dated Saturday of the destroyed Su-35, the first loss of such an aircraft since February 2. As of Monday, Russia had lost eight of the aircraft, according to Oryx. What People Are Saying Military analyst Jake Broe, on X (formerly Twitter): "Russia lost another Su-35. Theory is that Ukraine now has operational their Swedish SAAB AEW&C planes with their F-16 fleet. This capability took years to fight for and obtain for Ukraine. Bravo everyone!" Kyiv Insider, on X: "The location of yesterday's shoot down of a Russian Su-35 by a Ukrainian F-16 was fairly deep into Russian territory. We must credit the skill and bravery here." Former Ukrainian Internal Affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko, on X: "It is reported that for the first time in history, an F-16 has shot down a Russian Su-35 ' to Ukrainian Allies for providing us with the tools!" The Ukraine Fights Telegram channel: "This is a historic moment, but now we have to camouflage the SAAB as carefully as possible." What Happens Next Experts have hailed the incident as a breakthrough in Ukrainian air capabilities, and pro-Ukrainian voices on social media have praised the possibilities that Kyiv can neutralize Russian aviation and missile systems.
