Iranian CEO Arrested in U.S. Over Alleged Violation Of Sanctions

The U.S. Justice Department has announced the arrest of an Iranian national and U.S. permanent resident over alleged exports of sensitive electronics to Iran, in violation of American sanctions.

Bahram Mohammad Ostovari, 66, who resides in both Santa Monica and Tehran, was detained on Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport, said the department in a statement released on Friday.

A federal indictment unsealed the same day charges him with “one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and three counts of violating the IEEPA.”

According to the indictment, Ostovari is the founder and CEO of a Tehran-based engineering firm referred to as “Company A,” which supplied telecommunications and railway signaling equipment to the Iranian government, including the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways.

The Justice Department claimed that Ostovari and his partners illegally shipped “sophisticated computer processors, railway signaling equipment, and other electronics” from at least May 2018 to July 2025.

Prosecutors alleged that Ostovari used two front companies based in the UAE – MH-SYS FZCO and Match Systech FZE – to acquire goods from U.S. suppliers and conceal their final destination.

“Ostovari and his co-conspirators intentionally concealed from electronics suppliers in the United States and elsewhere that the goods were destined for Iran,” the statement said.

Since becoming a U.S. permanent resident in May 2020, he “continued to export, sell, and supply electronics and electrical components to Company A in Iran.”

The Justice Department further claimed that Ostovari had knowledge of U.S. sanctions, had discussed them in emails, and “directed one co-conspirator to provide false information to a federal export control officer.”

If convicted, Ostovari could face up to 20 years in prison for each count, it said, adding that the case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Commerce.

Washington began to intensify sanctions against Tehran in 2018 after unilaterally pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement despite the Islamic Republic’s full compliance with its obligations under the deal.

Iran the sanctions are cruel and illegal as they directly target ordinary people.