UK citizen sentenced to prison for conspiring to procure high-powered microwave system from US for Iran

 A United Kingdom citizen was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to procure a high-powered microwave system and counter-drone system from the United States to Iran, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday. .

U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said Saber Fakih, 48, conspired with Badr Fakih, 43, of Canada, Altaf Fakih, 72, of the United Arab Emirates, and Alireza Taghavi, 48, of Iran, to try and export an industrial microwave system . (IMS) and counter-drone system for Iran.

"Potential military uses of IMS could include high-power microwave-based directed-energy weapons systems. Counter-drone systems, which have both commercial and military uses, can be used to intercept, identify, redirect, land or take down "Control of a targeted unmanned aerial vehicle," the lawyer's office said.

Graves argued that Saber Fakih posed a significant threat to national security when he conspired to purchase systems for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which the US has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Graves also said that his actions violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Iranian transactions and sanctions regulations.

After serving his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Frederick ordered Saber Fakih to be released on three years of supervised release.

During the government's investigation, it found that Saber Fakih and his co-conspirators attempted to export systems to Iran in a plea agreement in 2017 and 2018. Sabar Fakih admitted that he was the primary contact between the Iranian buyer and the U.S.-based seller of IMS.

Sabar Fakih also said that he was instrumental in arranging the bid with the Massachusetts vendor, overseeing the inspection of the machine, and corresponding with the vendor on Taghavi's behalf. He also admitted that he was fully aware that it was ultimately destined for Iran, the US Attorney's Office said.

In connection with the same scheme, the US separately charged a co-conspirator, 46-year-old Iranian national Jalal Roholahnejad, with trafficking, wire fraud and related offenses.

Rohollahnejad facilitated the transfer of approximately $450,000 from Iran to the United Arab Emirates, where Fakih was to convert this amount into US dollars. After this Fakih transferred the money to Badr Fakih in Canada. After this Badr Fakih transferred the money to America.

Saber Fakih and Badr Fakih also conspired to purchase two counter-drone systems worth approximately $1 million from a Maryland-based company on Taghavi's behalf.

The US issued an extradition request and Saber Fakih was arrested in the United Kingdom in February 2021.

The case was investigated by the FBI's Baltimore Field Office, HSI's Baltimore Field Office, and the US Department of Commerce's Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterespionage and Export Control Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.