Man sentenced to 5 years in plot to ship sensitive US military technology to Iran

Iranian man gets 5 years in arms smuggling case

WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal prosecutor in Delaware says an Iranian man has been sentenced to five years in prison after secretly pleading guilty in a plot to ship sensitive U.S. military technology to Iran.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Hall says Amir Hossein Ardebili was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington.

Hall says Ardebili was arrested in the Republic of Georgia in October 2007 and extradited in January 2008 on smuggling and arms export violations.

Hall says before Ardebili’s arrest the defendant acquired thousands of components for Iran, including military aircraft parts and night vision devices.

Federal officials say the case is an example of Iran’s efforts to evade export controls and acquire military technology.