Iranian-American given 25 years for trying to buy missiles for Tehran
Reza Olangian convicted in 2016 of trying to buy anti-aircraft missiles after sting by undercover DEA agent
NEW YORK — A dual citizen of Iran and the United States was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempting to buy surface-to-air missiles and aircraft components for the Iranian government in violation of US sanctions.
Reza Olangian, of Los Gatos, California, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday. A jury convicted him in 2016 of charges including conspiring to acquire and transfer anti-aircraft missiles.
Olangian was arrested in Estonia in 2012 and then extradited to the US.
Prosecutors said the 57-year-old had arranged to buy the missiles from a Drug Enforcement Administration informant posing as a Russian arms dealer. They said the deal involved 10 missiles, but that Olangian ultimately wanted to acquire at least 200.
Olangian’s lawyer said he will appeal.