A 44-year-old Iranian woman living in the United States with a green card was arrested Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly brokering massive arms deals for the Iranian government, including sales of armed drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition destined for Sudan.
Shamim Mafi, who was living in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles, faces a federal charge under 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by facilitating the illegal export and sale of Iranian-made weapons.
If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
According to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California, Mafi allegedly used an Oman-registered company to arrange the transactions as recently as 2025.
Last night, Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran. She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of… pic.twitter.com/l39Gf1WVed
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) April 19, 2026
One reported deal involved a contract worth more than $70 million for Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones supplied by Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
Prosecutors also allege phone records show Mafi had direct contact with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security between December 2022 and June 2025.
The alleged gunrunner has posted glamorous photos of herself from all over the world. In one photo, she is seen posing in a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz roadster.
The New York Post reports:
Mafi, who left Iran in 2013 and became a permanent resident of the US in 2016 under the Obama administration, allegedly used an Oman-registered company, Atlas International Business, to broker weapons deals as recently as 2025, according to court records.
Among the sales was a contract for more than $70 million for Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones from Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
The drones, along with 55,000 bomb fuses, were transferred in deals with the Sudanese Ministry of Defense, which has been fighting in a bloody civil war since 2023.
Iran has been repeatedly accused of violating a United Nations arms embargo amid the Sudanese civil war, with its drones spotted in use by the government forces.
Mafi was taken into custody at LAX on Saturday night and is expected to make her initial appearance Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
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