4 indicted in US on charges of violating Iran sanctions

Shahin Tabatabaei, one of those charged, ran companies that shipped American items through other countries into Islamic Republic

Illustrative photo of a police officer holding a pair of handcuffs. (Abir Sultan/Flash90)

A man was arrested upon entering the US from Canada this week as he was one of four people charged in a previously secret indictment accusing them of conspiring to violate trade sanctions against Iran from 2007 to 2011.

The FBI said Shahin Tabatabaei was arrested upon entering the United States north of Seattle on Monday. According to a 2013 indictment by a federal grand jury in California, he ran companies in Mexico and Canada that shipped American items through other countries into Iran.

The items appear to have had applications in the oil and gas industry, and the indictment suggests at least some had potential military uses.

A lawyer for Tabatabaei did not immediately return emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The other defendants in the case were based in Canada and Iran.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.

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