Iran accuses U.S. and Chinese of trying to sell nuclear equipment to Iran

A federal grand jury indicted U.S. to an Iranian and Chinese for trying to export nuclear equipment to Iran, U.S. officials said Friday. The Iranian Parviz Khaki was also charged with conspiring to ship radioactive material from the U.S. to customers in Iran, said the grand jury indictment. Nuclear material and Khaki Zongcheng Yi Chinese citizen allegedly tried to obtain and send to Iran include maraging steel, aluminum alloys, mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps used to construct, operate and maintain gas centrifuges to enrich uranium. Khaki, 43, also known as 'Martin', and Yi, known as 'Kohler', were charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Economic Powers Act International Emergency (IEEPA, for its acronym in English) for plotting to export U.S. goods without licenses. They were also accused of the crime of conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts of smuggling two illegal export of U.S. goods to Iran in violation of the IEEPA and one count of conspiracy to launder money. Khaki was arrested in the Philippines last May at the request of the United States, while Yi is still at large. If convicted, both face sentences of up to 20 years for violations of IEEPA, five years for conspiracy to defraud the United States, 10 years each on charges of smuggling, 20 years for money laundering.