Our Publications
International Enforcement Actions
October 1, 2011
Five individuals and four companies were indicted on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States, smuggling, illegally exporting U.S. goods, including defense articles, to Iran, making false statements, and obstruction of justice. According to the indictment, between June 2007 and February 2008, the defendants fraudulently purchased 6,000...
Articles and Reports
August 1, 2011
Iran has just announced plans to triple its production of uranium enriched to the level used in research reactors. This step may seem merely technical to the average person, but it has vast implications. Once accomplished, this feat will elevate Iran to a "virtual" nuclear weapon state. Enriching to the level planned accomplishes 90 percent of the...
International Enforcement Actions
July 30, 2011
Three men were charged in January 2010 connection with a conspiracy involving the illegal exportation and smuggling of specialized vacuum pump equipment with nuclear applications from the United States to Iran. Jirair Avanessian, an Iranian-born chemical engineer living in Glendale, California, where he owned and operated an import-export company...
International Enforcement Actions
June 1, 2011
The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and 15 affiliates were indicted in New York state court for illegally funneling more than $60 million through the American banking system since 2008. IRISL and its co-defendants were allegedly able to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran by falsifying records and transacting through shell...
International Enforcement Actions
May 26, 2011
Spanish police seized 9 U.S.-made Bell-112 military transport helicopters and aviation spare parts, and arrested 5 Spanish businessmen suspected of attempting to illegally export the seized materials to Iran. The police also arrested three Iranians accused of traveling to Spain to negotiate their purchase. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez...
International Enforcement Actions
May 17, 2011
A San Diego federal grand jury indicted two Belgians, Willy A.E. De Greef and Frederic Roland Nicholas Depelchin, for obtaining aircraft and helicopter parts from U.S. suppliers and transferring them to Iran in violation of the U.S. trade embargo on Iran. The parts were allegedly purchased through two Belgium-based companies, Meca Airway Ltd. and...
International Enforcement Actions
May 1, 2011
U.S. nationals Hamid Seifi and Michael Edward Todd, along with their respective companies, Galaxy Aviation Services and The Parts Guys, LLC, have pleaded guilty to charges that they illegally exported military equipment to Iran from November 2008 through January 2010. The charges were brought by a federal grand jury in Georgia in 2010 against 7...
International Enforcement Actions
March 19, 2011
On March 19, 2011 Turkish authorities seized a large weapons cache destined for Syria from an Ilyushin cargo aircraft operated by Yas Air, an Iranian cargo airline. The cargo, which was labeled as "spare auto parts," included AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns and ammunition, as well as 60-mm and 120-mm mortar shells. Following an inspection of...
International Enforcement Actions
March 1, 2011
Three members of a Bogota, Colombia family pleaded guilty to U.S. federal charges for illegally attempting to export 22 F-5 fighter jet engines to Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Executive Orders banning exports to Iran. Amparo Echeverri Valdes, Carlos Alfredo Pantoja-Coral, and Diego M. Echeverri...
International Enforcement Actions
March 1, 2011
The Israeli Navy seized a cargo vessel carrying 6 Chinese-made C-704 (Nasr 1) anti-ship missiles in the Mediterranean Sea. Also seized were 2,500 mortar shells, some 67,000 rounds of ammunition, 2 Kelvin Hughes radar systems, 2 C-704 launchers, and Farsi instruction manuals explaining how to operate the C-704. Israel believes the vessel, called...