US prosecutors on Dec 16 charged Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi with “conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components from the US to Iran in violation of US export control and sanctions laws”, according to a statement from the US department of justice.

The statement added that the illegally exported technology was used in a January drone attack that killed three US servicemen in Jordan.

Iran denied any involvement in the attack, dismissing the claims as “baseless accusations”.

“We consider both the cruel and unilateral US sanctions against Iran and these arrests to be contrary to all international laws and standards,” foreign ministry official Vahid Jalalzadeh told the Tasnim news agency late Dec 21.

Jalalzadeh said the ministry had “invited” the Italian charge d’affaires and the Swiss ambassador to Tehran – who represents US interests there – to “declare its protests to the arrests”.

Abedininajafabadi, 38, was arrested on Dec 16 in Italy by Italian authorities at the request of the US, the US department of justice said.

It identified Sadeghi as a 42-year-old dual US-Iranian national who was arrested in the US.