BOSTON (WHDH) - An FBI special agent testified at a detention hearing Tuesday in federal court in Boston in connection with the arrest of a Natick man after agents descended on his home last month.

Mahidi Sadeghi, 42, is one of two men arrested by the FBI in connection with a deadly drone strike in Jordan last year that killed three American soldiers and injured 47 others when the drone targeted an American military installation.

The mother of one of the victims spoke to 7NEWS after Sadeghi was charged.

“I was kind of, shocked, that one of them was actually here in the United States,” said Oneida Oliver Sanders.

Prosecutors allege Sadeghi and an associate from Italy with deep ties to the Iranian government conspired to circumvent American export control laws.

Sadeghi was an employee of a Massachusetts based semiconductor company but was fired by the company after he was taken into custody.

Both are charged with export violation laws.

During the detention hearing, prosecutors called Sadeghi a liar who deceived several people, including his employer, and told the judge he has the means to flee and little reason to stay, calling all this an affront to the National security of the United States.

The defense provided the judge with three dozen letters of support from family, friends, and neighbors of Sadeghi and says it speaks volumes for why he would stay and not leave the country especially if he surrenders his passport.

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