Accused Smuggler Says Prosecutors Have Exaggerated His Ties to Iranian Missile Program

An Iranian-born U.S. businessman suspected of aiding Tehran’s missile program yesterday accused U.S. federal prosecutors of exaggerating charges against him, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Jan. 12).

Mohammad Farahbakhsh is being held while awaiting trial on charges of illegally shipping temperature and pressure sensors to Iran through the United Arab Emirates. Prosecutors also plan to charge Farahbakhsh next month with illegally doing business with a company suspected of ties to Iran’s nuclear program, AP reported.

In documents filed yesterday, defense attorney Kristan Peters accused prosecutors of mischaracterizing the charges against her client.

“After three months of investigation, the government was forced to resort to speculation and inflammatory name-calling in its effort to garner press and unfairly label Mr. Farahbakhsh as a supporter of the Iranian nuclear or military program,” Peters wrote in a bail motion.

U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Conner dismissed Peters’ complaints, AP reported.

“We stand by the statements we made in court,” he said. “We’re not going to engage in an extrajudicial tit for tat” (Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press, Jan. 20).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.