US says Iranian extradited from Panama on alleged Iran sanctions charges
The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said on Monday that an Iranian citizen was extradited from Panama to the United States to face a nine-count indictment in Seattle tied to an alleged scheme to violate sanctions against Iran by shipping goods through China.
Reza Dindar, 44, was indicted by a grand jury in August 2014 and arrested in Panama in July 2025 at the request of the United States, the office said in a statement.
Dindar was due to appear in US District Court in Seattle on Monday for an initial hearing, it said.
“The members of this conspiracy thought they could evade export restrictions by shipping goods through a third country – in this case China,” First Assistant US Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said.
According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014 Dindar managed a business in Xi’an, China, that allegedly concealed the fact it was procuring US goods for companies in Iran.
Prosecutors said Dindar and co-conspirators used deception in 2011 and 2012 to purchase parts for three military sonar systems from a business in Washington state, claiming they were destined for China while intending to ship them onward to Iran.
Dindar is charged with conspiracy, export violations, smuggling, money laundering and filing false export records.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
