Glamorous Iranian businesswoman Shamim Mafi, who has a US green card was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of Tehran

Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, and known for flaunting her high flying life style was taken into custody on Saturday night

Feds charged her with brokering deals for Iranian drones, bombs, and millions of rounds of ammunition bound for Sudan

Mafi allegedly brokered arms deals for Tehran, according to the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California

If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison

California based Iranian businesswoman Shamim Mafi [photo], has been charged with trafficking arms on behalf of Tehran, allegedly brokering deals for Iranian drones, bombs and ammunition for Sudan

A glamorous California businesswoman was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of Tehran.
The office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California, Sunday announced that federal authorities had detained Iranian businesswoman Shamim Mafi on suspicion of brokering arms sales to Sudan on behalf of the Iranian regime.
44-year-old Mafi, a Green card holder was taken into custody on Saturday night and charged with brokering deals for Iranian drones, bombs, and millions of rounds of ammunition bound for Sudan, according to the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California.
Mafi who become a permanent resident of the US in 2016 after emigrated to the US from her native Iran in 2013, and now makes her home in who lives in the Woodland Hills suburb of Los Angeles,is known to chronicle her her high flying lifestyle on social media, posting glamorous photos of herself traveling the world, posing in a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz roadster.

Mafi who arrived US from Iran in 2013 and became a permanent resident of the US in 2016, allegedly used an Oman-registered company, Atlas International Business, to broker weapons deals as recently as 2025. She was arrested at LAX on Saturday night

Prosecutors allege that Mafi brokered weapons deals using Atlas International Business, an Oman-registered company, as recently as 2025.
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.  
Phone records indicate that Mafi had direct contact with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security [MOIS], between December 2022 and June 2025. 
Prosecutors say Mafi had no legal requisites to oversee such dangerous sales. 
She is expected to make her initial appearance Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X.