Federal Prosecutors Charge U.S. Businessman With Aiding Iranian Missile Program

Iranian-born U.S. businessman Mohammad Farahbakhsh has been charged with illegally smuggling dual-use equipment to Iran for use in Tehran’s ballistic missile program, U.S. federal prosecutors said yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 10).

Farahbakhsh has been charged with sending pressure sensors and other equipment to Iran through the United Arab Emirates. In recent raids of Farahbakhsh’s homes in California and Iowa, federal agents discovered computer files showing deliveries to the Iranian company Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which is believed to be linked to Tehran’s missile program, prosecutors said.

Farahbakhsh’s attorney Kristan Peters has said her client has no ties to the Iranian military (Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press/Newsday, Jan. 11).

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