A 44-year-old Iranian citizen was extradited to the US last week and will appear in a Seattle District Court on Tuesday on a nine-count indictment related to his attempts to violate trade sanctions imposed on Iran, the Justice Department confirmed.
Reza Dindar, also known as Renda, was initially indicted by a grand jury in August 2014, before being arrested in Panama in July 2025 at the request of the US.
"The members of this conspiracy thought they could evade export restrictions by shipping goods through a third country - in this case, China," First Assistant US Attorney Neil Floyd said.
Dindar's conduct "violates sanctions against Iran imposed by the President’s Executive Order in March 1995 and reimposed in 2001," with the orders prohibiting "the unauthorized exportation, re-exportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States of any goods, technology, or services to Iran or the Government of Iran; as well as the exportation or supply of goods, technology, or services to persons in third countries knowing or with reason to know that the goods, technology or services are intended for supply, trans-shipment, or re-exportation to Iran," the department said.
According to the indictment, he managed a business in Xi'an, China, between 2010 and 2014, that hid the fact that it was procuring items in the US for Iranian companies, fraudulently claiming the goods were destined for China.
In 2011 and 2012, Dindar and his coconspirators "used deception to purchase parts for three military sonar systems from a business in the Western District of Washington," the indictment adds.
"Dindar and his coconspirators claimed the systems would be used by a company in China. In fact, the indictment alleges that at all times, the plan was to ship the parts through China to Iran in violation of export controls," it continued.
He was charged with conspiracy, two counts of export to an embargoed country, two counts of smuggling goods from the US, two counts of money laundering, and two counts of filing false export records, the Justice Department said.
He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the department noted.
LAX authorities arrest Iranian national attempting to traffic arms to Sudan for Islamic regime
Meanwhile, on Sunday, First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, confirmed that Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) authorities arrested Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old Iranian national, permanently residing in Los Angeles, for trafficking arms on behalf of the Islamic regime.