US Federal prosecutors charged two California men with conspiring to smuggle fighter-jet parts to Iran in a scheme they allege dates to 2009.
The US attorney’s office in Los Angeles claimed in a statement on Friday that the pair worked with two Iranian nationals to break laws that restrict exports to the longtime US adversary, AP reported.
A nine-count federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday alleged that Zavik Zargarian tried to help one of the Iranians purchase more than $3 million worth of parts for fighter jets. Their would-be supplier was an undercover federal agent.
Prosecutors also allege Vache Nayirian exported more than 7,000 fluorocarbon rubber O-rings that could have military uses, including for aircraft landing gear.
To evade detection, the shipments went to other destinations in the Persian Gulf before being routed to Iran, where the national air force received them, prosecutors claimed.
Both defendants have been assigned court-appointed attorneys and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints