Former FAA contractor and naturalized citizen pleads guilty for spying for Iran

A former FAA contractor named Abouzar Rahmati, a 42-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, just pleaded guilty to playing secret agent for Iran, funneling sensitive U.S. aviation and energy data to Tehran like it was a side hustle. 

Seven years of this nonsense, from December 2017 to June 2024, according to the DOJ. 

That’s right, while most of us were binge-watching Seinfeld, this guy was downloading 172 GB of restricted files—think U.S. National Aerospace System, airport radar systems, and radio frequency data—and slipping them to Iranian intelligence on "removable media" like some low-rent spy flick.

Rahmati, who once moonlighted as a first lieutenant in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (you know, the U.S.-designated terrorist outfit), wasn’t just content with aviation secrets. Oh no, he also tossed in private U.S. solar industry docs and FAA intel on airports and air traffic control towers. Because why stop at treason when you can go full buffet?

This all lands as President Trump’s "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran is cranking up to eleven. Tehran’s nuclear ambitions are in the crosshairs, and after they blew off direct talks last month, Trump didn’t mince words: "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before." Classic Trump, serving up diplomacy with a side of kah-boom!

Rahmati’s facing up to 10 years for acting as Iran’s errand boy and another 5 for conspiracy. He’ll find out his fate on August 26, but let’s just say he’s not winning any Patriot of the Year awards. This is what happens when you let a fox guard the henhouse—or in this case, the airspace. Stay vigilant, folks; the world’s a messy place, and not everyone’s playing for Team USA.

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