Canadian-Iranian sentenced to prison for sanctions violations

A Canadian-Iranian man was sentenced on Friday to 32 months in prison for violating US sanctions against Iran.

Between 2014 and 2016, Ali Soofi, 63, "conspired to export military items from the United States to Iran, both directly and through transshipment to intermediary countries, without a license", according to prosecutors.

Soofi "sought to purchase and ship numerous items, including helicopters, high-tech machine gun parts, tank parts, and military vehicles, from the United States to Iran, all without a license and while knowing that such shipments were illegal under US law", a statement from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York added.

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate US sanctions against Iran, and was sentenced to 32 months in prison plus one year of supervised release.

Washington has implemented a series of economic sanctions against Tehran and its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps forces.

In November, the US sanctioned a network of individuals and companies accused of forging money to help the Revolutionary Guards.