The United States Department of Justice has indicted a US-Iranian national for allegedly facilitating the export of US-manufactured aircraft parts, including components used on F-4 fighter jets, to Iran, a DOJ press release stated.

The indicted individual is Jeffrey Chance Nader, 68, and the indictment claims that from 2023 he conspired to purchase and illegally export - or attempt to export - four types of components, totalling around 35 individual pieces, in violation of US sanctions on Iran.

“Iran has no business using US-manufactured parts and components to keep their planes and drones in the sky,” said Matthew S Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. “Stopping these items before they get to our adversaries - like we did here - reflects the real-world impact we’re having through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force.”

Attorney Matthew M Graves for the District of Columbia added that Iran’s “ongoing supply of Russia with drones and other technology” also shows why the US must stop Iran from obtaining American-made parts, services, and technology.

Nader allegedly acted on orders from customers in Iran and coordinated purchases for them, the DOJ stated. He is believed to have claimed to US suppliers that his company, Pro Aero Capital, was the end user of the parts. The company is located in Long Beach, California, Dun & Bradstreet records show. Its website is currently inactive.

Iran has been witnessing an expansion in aviation lately, for example with Chabahar Airlines (IRU, Tehran Mehrabad) eyeing international routes, and multiple carriers such as Yazd Airways, Caspian Airlines, and Karun Airlines acquiring aircraft. As a result of US and European Union sanctions, transactions between Iran, Russia, and Belarus are not uncommon, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to acquire spare parts.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, there are 395 commercial aviation aircraft currently registered in Iran, active and inactive, among 29 carriers.