An Iranian-born US man pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to smuggle missile components from the United States to Iran, prosecutors said.

"Our national security is threatened when anyone attempts to illegally export restricted military components that could fall into the wrong hands," said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago.

"HSI will continue to aggressively investigate individuals and organizations who would seek to sell sensitive technology at the expense of our own security."

Andro Telemi, 42, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his attempt to illegally export the components to Iran via Dubai.

He admitted to trying to buy 10 connector adapters for the TOW and TOW2 anti-armor missile systems in 2009 from an Illinois-based company.

The company was secretly controlled by law enforcement officers who gathered the necessary evidence for a successful prosecution.

Telemi, a naturalized US citizen who lived in California, was indicted in December 2009 along with co-defendant Davoud Baniameri, 39.

Baniameri pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison.

A third defendant, Syed Majid Mousavi, is believed to be in Iran.