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SEATTLE (AP) — The Justice Department announced on Monday that an Iranian national, accused over a decade ago of illegally exporting military sonar equipment from the United States to Iran, has been extradited to Seattle. This action comes as part of ongoing efforts to enforce American trade sanctions.
Reza Dindar, aged 44, faced a 2014 indictment that charged him with conspiracy, smuggling, and money laundering. He was apprehended in Panama last July at the behest of U.S. authorities and transported to Seattle last Thursday. Details regarding Dindar’s whereabouts in the years leading up to his arrest remain unclear, as does the reason for the delay in his capture.
The recently unsealed indictment reveals that Dindar operated New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China. During 2011 and 2012, Dindar and his associates allegedly deceived a business in Washington state to acquire components for three military sonar systems. They misrepresented the final destination of the equipment, falsely claiming no export license was needed, prosecutors explained.
The indictment states that the company purchased the sonar systems for $97,600, initially shipping them to China before covertly rerouting them to Iran. These actions contravened trade sanctions against Iran, which were initially imposed in 1995 and renewed in 2001.
In a related geopolitical context, tensions have escalated following a U.S. and Israeli military initiative against Iran on February 28 amid nuclear program discussions. This ongoing conflict has resulted in significant casualties, including over 3,000 in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel, and over a dozen in Gulf Arab states, as well as the loss of 15 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members across the region.
In an unrelated case, federal prosecutors said a 44-year-old Los Angeles woman was arrested Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of helping Iran traffic weapons to Sudan, which is in its fourth year of a bloody civil war.