Our Publications
This page contains summaries of the world's effort to enforce international sanctions against Iran by preventing it from buying weapons and the means to make them. The summaries cover prosecutions, interdictions of illicit cargo, and other enforcement actions.
International Enforcement Actions
July 11, 2018
On June 20, 2018, a federal indictment was unsealed against Saaed Valadbaigi, an Iranian businessman accused of sending U.S.-origin export controlled materials to Iran, including a high-strength aluminum alloy that can be used to make centrifuge components and materials with missile and aerospace applications.
International Enforcement Actions
May 15, 2018
Update: On March 14, 2018, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that Reza Olangian was sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years of supervised r
International Enforcement Actions
November 16, 2016
Two men based in the Los Angeles area were arrested on October 26, 2016 on federal charges related to a conspiracy to export military aircraft parts and other defense items to Iran. Zavik Zargarian, 52, of Glendale, California, and Vache Nayiran, 57, of Lakeview Terrace, California, were taken into custody and charged with violations of the...
International Enforcement Actions
August 3, 2016
Ali Reza Parsa, a businessman with dual Iranian and Canadian citizenship, pleaded guilty in federal court in January 2016 to conspiring to ship U.S.-origin electronic components from the United States to Iran, via Canada, without a license required by the U.S.
International Enforcement Actions
March 8, 2016
The CEO of a New York-based metallurgical company has been arrested on charges of illegally exporting a specialized metallic powder from the United States to Iran, the U.S. Justice Department announced on March 1. According to the criminal complaint, Erdal Kuyumcu, a naturalized U.S.
International Enforcement Actions
February 16, 2016
On January 17, 2016 – the day after implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran – President Barack Obama announced the details of another agreement with Iran: four Americans who had been detained in Iran were released, and, in exchange, clemency was granted to six Iranian-Americans and one Iranian serving sentences or awaiting trial in the United...
International Enforcement Actions
February 9, 2016
On January 27, 2016, Chinese national Sihai Cheng pleaded guilty to six counts related to the export of American-made pressure transducers to Iran in violation of U.S. export laws. He had been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States to face the charges on December 5, 2014. Also indicted in the case were Iranian national Seyed...
International Enforcement Actions
January 20, 2016
Criminal indictments were unsealed in Delaware and Massachusetts relating to the prosecution of Iranian arms procurement agent Amir Hossein Ardebili. In May 2008, Ardebili pled guilty to multiple violations of the Arms Export Control Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, smuggling, conspiracy and money laundering.
International Enforcement Actions
November 20, 2015
Kunlin Hsieh, a Taiwanese national and sales manager for Junbon Enterprises Co. Ltd. in Taiwan, pleaded guilty in June 2015 to conspiring to ship U.S.-origin dual-use electronic parts from the United States to Iran, via Taiwan. He was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison.
International Enforcement Actions
July 8, 2015
Nicholas Kaiga, a Belgian businessman who pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to evade export control regulations, was deported from the United States by U.S. immigration authorities on July 7, 2015. Kaiga attempted to export from the United States aluminum tubing used in the aerospace industry to a Malaysian front company, via Belgium,...