A set of handcuffs is pictured.
Los Angeles, California – In the latest development amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran, a dual resident of Tehran and Santa Monica has been arrested and charged with illegally exporting sensitive American electronics to Iran in violation of longstanding U.S. sanctions.
Bahram Mohammad Ostovari, 66, was taken into custody Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport following his arrival from abroad. Federal prosecutors unsealed a four-count indictment charging him with conspiracy and multiple violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as well as breaches of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). These statutes form the core legal framework for restricting the export of U.S. goods to Iran, a nation under sweeping sanctions due to its nuclear activities and support for terrorism.
According to the indictment, Ostovari is the founder and CEO of a Tehran-based engineering firm—referred to only as “Company A”—which provides signaling and communications systems for Iranian infrastructure projects, including those commissioned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways. Between May 2018 and July 2025, Ostovari allegedly spearheaded a covert effort to obtain and ship restricted technology, including advanced computer processors and railway signaling components, from the United States to Iran.
Prosecutors say Ostovari concealed his efforts through a web of deception, using two companies under his control in the United Arab Emirates—MH-SYS FZCO and Match Systech FZE—as intermediaries. These front companies were listed as the official end-users of the equipment when, in fact, the ultimate destination was his engineering firm in Iran. In multiple instances, Ostovari and his associates misrepresented the true use of the goods to suppliers and evaded U.S. export control authorities by deliberately omitting Iran from shipping and licensing documentation.
Despite obtaining lawful permanent resident status in the United States in May 2020, Ostovari is accused of continuing to operate the export scheme, knowingly violating federal laws that prohibit the unlicensed transfer of technology to Iran. The indictment cites email evidence that Ostovari was fully aware of the sanctions regime, even advising others on how to mislead federal export control officials about the end use of sensitive U.S. goods.
The charges come at a particularly sensitive moment, following recent U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and renewed scrutiny of Iran’s access to dual-use technologies. The IEEPA and ITSR are designed to curtail the transfer of American technology to Iran and other nations deemed threats to U.S. national security. At no point, officials say, did Ostovari or his companies seek or obtain required authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which oversees the administration of sanctions.
Ostovari pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Friday and was released on a $1.3 million bond. A trial is scheduled for September 2. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in federal prison.
