Warrant Out for O.C. Exporter in Iran Sales Case : Courts: Lawyer for man who admitted shipping restricted equipment says client missed second sentencing date because homeland won’t let him leave.

A federal court in Los Angeles has issued a warrant for the arrest of an Orange County exporter who failed to return this week from his native Iran for sentencing in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Harry L. Hupp on Monday also set a hearing for Dec. 21 to determine if the three homes used to secure Reza (Ray) Panjtan Amiri’s $200,000 bond should be forfeited. The properties were put up by Amiri’s friends and relatives, Assistant U.S. Atty. Patricia Beaman said.

Amiri, 44, owner of the now-defunct Ray Amiri Computer Consultants in Newport Beach, admitted selling restricted electronics equipment to Iran. He pleaded guilty on March 30 to five counts of making false statements in connection with the illegal exports of technology to Iran, Beaman said Tuesday.

Amiri did not appear Monday for his sentencing, the second no-show--he was initially scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 14. Mark E. Beck, Amiri’s Los Angeles attorney, said that his client has “repeatedly” applied in the past month to leave Iran but that Iranian authorities have refused to let him go.

Beaman said the equipment Amiri sold, including an oscilloscope, logic analyzers and pulse generators, can be used to develop nuclear weapons and missile guidance systems.

The oscilloscope can be used in civilian and military applications, including developing missile guidance systems and processing data from nuclear weapons tests.

Beaman said that she will seek a stiff sentence for Amiri, who faces up to 25 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines. She said that Amiri, as the company’s owner, played a pivotal role in the illegal export in 1989 and 1990 of the equipment.