US charges Iranian man in military aircraft part scheme

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Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities announced charges Thursday against an Iranian national accused of scheming to illegally export aircraft parts from the United States to Iran.

A federal grand jury in Manhattan returned an indictment Wednesday against Alireza Moazami Goudarzi, 28, for plotting to buy and export military-grade aircraft parts.

Authorities said Goudarzi emailed an unnamed U.S. supplier in October 2010 about buying civilian aircraft parts to ship to Iran. The supplier then contacted the government, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office said.

An undercover law enforcement agent posing as an aircraft parts supplier soon after began communicating with Goudarzi about his interest in buying rotor blades for an attack helicopter and for a jet engine, the indictment said.

The indictment charges Goudarzi with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Arms Export Control Act, as well as money laundering. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 105 years in prison.

Goudarzi is currently in Malaysian custody pending extradition proceedings following his arrest there Oct. 24.

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