The US government has indicted a California businessman for allegedly attempting to supply components for the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom to Iran.
Jeffrey Nader allegedly obtained the unspecified components for military aircraft including the F-4, claiming that they would be used by his California-based company, Pro Aero Capital, alleged the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on 14 August.
“This action demonstrates the justice department’s commitment to keeping military-grade equipment out of the hands of the Iranian regime,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the DOJ’s National Security Division.
“We will aggressively investigate, disrupt, and hold accountable criminal networks that supply sensitive technology to hostile and repressive governments in contravention of US sanctions.”
The DOJ alleges that from at least 2023 Nader and associates attempted the export to Iran of “four types of aircraft components, totalling nearly three dozen individual pieces.”
Some of the components were for the F-4 Phantom, a type Iran obtained before the country’s revolution in 1979, which transformed Tehran from a Cold War ally to a major foe of the USA.
The DOJ says that “on several instances” Nader attempted to act on purchase orders from Iran, reaching out to US suppliers and claiming that Pro Aero would be the end user.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was also instrumental in Nader’s indictment.
“This indictment highlights the FBI’s commitment to enforcing export laws by holding those accountable who allegedly try to smuggle US-origin military equipment to the benefit of Iran,” says Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch.
“Any circumvention of US export control law is unacceptable, and the FBI works diligently with its partners across the globe to seek out and bring to justice those who violate export laws along with any shell companies that support such activities.”
Despite decades of sanctions, Iran has been able to keep American types such as the F-4 and Grumman F-14 in service. The regime has reportedly kept aircraft flying through reverse engineering, indigenous production of parts, and the cannibalisation of aircraft.
Iran is also major producer of one-way attack drones, providing the HESA Shahed 136 to Moscow in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
