3 Charged With Trying to Export Airplane Parts to Iran

A federal grand jury has indicted two Iranians and a Malaysian in an alleged plot to smuggle aircraft parts out of the United States to keep Iran’s aging fleet of F-14 Tomcat warplanes flying.

An indictment unsealed this week accuses the three of using a warehouse in Bakersfield to store the parts before shipment to London.

The indictment also charges Soroosh Homayouni, Saeed Homayouni and Yew Leng Fung with attempting to smuggle out parts needed for F-4 Phantoms, F-5 Tigers and the Hawk missile system, all used by Iran.

Saeed Homayouni, 38, and Fung, 39, were arrested in Bakersfield and arraigned in federal court in Fresno and will be transported to a federal prison in downtown San Diego to await trial.

Soroosh Homayouni, 49, is thought to be in London, according to the indictment. He served a two-year federal sentence in New York after being convicted of a scheme to ship missile parts to Iran in the 1980s.

The three allegedly bought the parts from manufacturers but did not possess the export license needed to sell the parts overseas. Eight pallets of parts were seized at the Bakersfield warehouse, according to the indictment.

The F-14 parts included items for the navigation system, computer information displays, fuel pumps and ejection seats, as well as specialized bolts and seals. Until the fall of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979, the U.S. sold F-14 Tomcats to Iran, the only foreign country allowed to buy the supersonic fighter.

A report by the U.S. Naval Institute indicates that Iran has 25 F-14 Tomcats but that spare parts must be covertly obtained because of a U.S. embargo.

Although the U.S. Navy is now phasing out the F-14 in favor of the F-18 Hornet, the Tomcat was known for decades as the world’s fastest, more durable and most feared fighter plane.

U.S. officials were tipped off to the alleged conspiracy by a manufacturer who suspected that a customer was not authorized to ship the parts being purchased.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of $1 million. The three were all employees of Multicore Ltd. of London, which has also been indicted.