"Baoxia Liu, aka Emily Liu; Yiu Wa Yung, aka Stephen Yung; Yongxin Li, aka Emma Lee; and Yanli Zhong, aka Sydney Chung, unlawfully exported and smuggled U.S. export-controlled items through China and Hong Kong," the Justice Department said in a press release Wednesday.
The Justice Department said that between 2007 and 2020, the suspects arranged front companies in China to obtain so-called "dual use" technology from the United States for entities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, which oversees Iran's military drone production.
Three U.S. service members were killed, and dozens were injured Sunday in a drone attack on a U.S. military facility in Jordan.
The Pentagon suggested the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militant group was responsible for the attack though a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance of Iraq has claimed responsibility.
"Our indictment alleges a years-long complex conspiracy to violate U.S. laws by procuring U.S. technology with military uses for entities in Iran who would do us harm," said U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves.
In October, the Justice Department issued an advisory on threats posed by Iranian efforts to augment their ballistic missile capacity and get around international controls.
"Throughout the course of the conspiracy, the defendants concealed the fact that the goods were destined for Iran and Iranian entities and made material misrepresentations to U.S. companies," the Justice Department said.
In December, the U.S. government sanctioned entities in Iran, Hong Kong and Indonesia for allegedly helping Iran obtain drone technology.
Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
