An Iranian entrepreneur holding a US Green Card was apprehended at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for purportedly trafficking weapons on behalf of Tehran, NY Post reported.
Shamim Mafi, 44, from Woodland Hills, was arrested on Saturday evening and faces charges for facilitating transactions involving Iranian drones, explosives, and millions of rounds of ammunition destined for Sudan, as per the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California.
Mafi shared glamorous photographs of herself globetrotting — including images of her in front of a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz roadster, according to The Post.
Charges against Shamim Mafi
Shamim Mafi is accused of violating 50 U.S.C. § 1705 by facilitating the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition produced by Iran and sold to Sudan, as per F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli.
If found guilty, she could face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Mafi is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016.
She is anticipated to make her initial court appearance on Monday afternoon at the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. She is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Here’s what court documents say
Mafi, who departed from Iran in 2013 and became a permanent resident of the United States in 2016 during the Obama administration, is accused of using an Oman-registered company, Atlas International Business, to facilitate weapons transactions as recently as 2025, NY POST reported, citing court documents.
Among these transactions was a contract exceeding $70 million for Iranian-manufactured Mohajer-6 armed drones from the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
These drones, along with 55,000 bomb fuses, were exchanged in agreements with the Sudanese Ministry of Defense, which has been engaged in a violent civil war since 2023.
Telephone records suggest that Mafi maintained direct communication with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) from December 2022 to June 2025.
Prosecutors assert that Mafi lacked the legal qualifications to manage such perilous sales.
Mafi informed investigators that she has never been assigned by the Iranian regime to perform any operations for Tehran within the United States.
An investigation into Mafi’s background revealed that Tehran confiscated properties she inherited from her father in 2020, with the Ministry of Intelligence subsequently instructing her to establish a business in the United States to repurchase the properties from the Iranian government, according to court records.
Prosecutors claimed that Iran had proposed to cover the initial costs of the business.
Mafi reportedly stated that she is “more useful” to Iranian operatives in Tehran than in the United States.
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