A U.S. district court has sentenced a man to 6½ years in prison for attempting to sell sophisticated U.S.-made military-capable technology to the regime in Iran.
"The electron tubes designed for military airborne radar, as well as the gyrocompasses used for swift boat navigation, were actually destined for Iran, despite long-standing U.S. sanctions that forbid such business transactions with the Middle Eastern nation," The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote on Friday.
“For six months, in more than 200 emails, 100 phone calls and hundreds of text messages, Arash Ghahreman negotiated on nearly a daily basis for the exportation” of the sophisticated technology.
"And it turns out, the U.S. negotiators on the other end of Ghahreman’s communications weren’t really third-party suppliers, but undercover federal agents in San Diego," the paper wrote.
"On Thursday, Ghahreman, an Iranian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced in San Diego federal court to 6½ years in prison for skirting U.S. trade sanctions and laundering the illegal proceeds."
"What may set apart Ghahreman’s case is the sophistication behind the scheme and the possibility for the items to be used by military."
"Ghahreman, a Staten Island, N.Y, resident, had worked as a marine engineer for various shipping companies when he got an email from his old dorm mate from an Iranian university. Koorush Taherkhani had founded TIG Marine Engineering, a company based in Dubai, and needed Ghahreman’s help procuring some equipment from the United States."
"A German man living in Dubai, Ergun Yildiz, had been hired as president and CEO, acting as the face of the company."
"Ghahreman, 45, approached a U.S. supplier of gyrocompasses. Because they weren’t in stock, the supplier inquired with the manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, prosecutors said. The manufacturer took one glance at the request and saw red flags, according to testimony at trial."
"Federal authorities were tipped off. Ghahreman was also told to contact another supplier if he was still interested in the gyrocompasses. He made contact the same day, unknowingly launching a six-month negotiation with undercover agents from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service."
"Ghahreman requested quotes for numerous items, including a pump station, semiconductors, pressure transmitters, boat engines and valves, according to prosecutors."
"In the end, he agreed to buy four NAVIGAT-2100 fiber optic gyrocompasses and 50 Y-690 electron tubes from the undercover agents."
The items were not innocuous, but sophisticated equipment that had both military and civilian applications: The electron tubes were initially designed for military airborne radar, and the gyrocompasses have applications in vessels used by the military, including on U.S. Coast Guard boats, the paper quoted Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane Harrigan as saying.
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