Iranian woman with US green card arrested at LAX on weapons trafficking charges
Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old Iranian national and lawful permanent US resident, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday evening. She is charged with brokering the sale of Iranian-made drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and ammunition to Sudan, including an alleged $70 million drone contract. Mafi faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted and is expected to appear in US District Court in Los Angeles on Monday.
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Divergence score
10 outlets covered it, splitting into 7 framing camps across 4 bias groups.
7 camps
4 bias groups
The spectrum · how 10 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
NY Post
Washington Examiner
AP News
The Guardian
CNN
PBS NewsHour
Breitbart
ABC News
BBC
Al Jazeera
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
Furthest apart on this story
NY Post
Glam Iranian businesswoman busted at LAX, charged with helping regime buy drones, bombs and ammo
Personal profile and sensational framing
The Guardian
Iranian American woman arrested in Los Angeles for alleged arms trafficking
straightforward international crime reporting
First to report
- NY Postfirst
- Washington Examiner+6.4 h
- CNN+6.8 h
- The Guardian+7.6 h
- Breitbart+7.8 h
- ABC News+8.3 h
- PBS NewsHour+8.6 h
- BBC+21.2 h
- Al Jazeera+27.5 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
The split, in one line
Mainstream outlets (AP, Guardian, PBS, CNN) offer straight factual reporting on the arms trafficking arrest, while NY Post and Breitbart lean into identity and lifestyle framing, the Examiner highlights US-Iran geopolitics, and Breitbart uniquely emphasizes her Obama-era residency status.
How each outlet covered it
Broad agreement on what happened
Outlets across the spectrum land in roughly the same place: the shared language is highlighted.
THE LEFT
“Los Angeles woman arrested on suspicion of helping Iran send weapons to Sudan - CNN”CNN CNN LEFT
22LOW DIVERGENCE
THE RIGHT
“Glam Iranian businesswoman busted at LAX, charged with helping regime buy drones, bombs and ammo”NYP NY Post RIGHT
DOWN THE MIDDLE
“Los Angeles woman arrested on Iranian arms trafficking charge” · AP News, PBS NewsHour
+Hide the full sourcingSee how all 10 outlets put it
LEFT2
GThe Guardian Iranian American woman arrested in Los Angeles for alleged arms trafficking 145d ago CNNCNN Los Angeles woman arrested on suspicion of helping Iran send weapons to Sudan - CNN 145d ago CENTER2
APAP News Los Angeles woman arrested on Iranian arms trafficking charge PBSPBS NewsHour Los Angeles woman arrested on suspicion of helping Iran traffic weapons to Sudan 145d ago RIGHT3
NYPNY Post Glam Iranian businesswoman busted at LAX, charged with helping regime buy drones, bombs and ammo 145d ago WEWashington Examiner Iranian woman arrested at LA airport for allegedly trafficking weapons to Sudan 145d ago BBreitbart High Rolling Iranian Businesswoman Nabbed at Los Angeles Airport, Accused of Arms Trafficking 145d ago 8 tracked claims across 10 outlets
Fact ledger
All8Claimed4Corroborated4
1/10
Claimed
Shamim Mafi gained permanent resident status in 2016 under the Obama administration.
Corroborated
Disputed
7 more tracked claimsSign up free to see the full ledger