The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the arrest of Bahram Mohammad Ostovari, a 66-year-old dual national of Iran and the United States, on charges of illegally exporting sensitive electronics to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Ostovari, a permanent U.S. resident who lives in both Santa Monica and Tehran, was apprehended Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport. A federal indictment unsealed the same day charges him with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and three separate counts of violating the IEEPA.
According to the indictment, Ostovari is the founder and CEO of a Tehran-based engineering company, referred to as “Company A,” which has supplied telecommunications and railway signaling equipment to the Iranian government, including the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways.
Prosecutors allege that from May 2018 to July 2025, Ostovari and his associates unlawfully shipped sophisticated computer processors, railway signaling devices, and other sensitive electronics. To conceal the shipments’ final destination, they allegedly used two front companies based in the United Arab Emirates — MH-SYS FZCO and Match Systech FZE — to purchase the goods from U.S. suppliers.
“Ostovari and his co-conspirators intentionally hid from U.S. and foreign electronics suppliers that the goods were destined for Iran,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
Further, authorities state that Ostovari was fully aware of the U.S. sanctions, had discussed them in emails, and even provided false information to a federal export control official.
