A New York contractor pleaded guilty today to trying to export restricted technology from the United States to Iran.
Richard Phillips, 53, admitted in Brooklyn federal court that he violated the ban on exporting high-tech goods to Iran, which are regulated by the US government to prevent Tehran from using them for military purposes.
Phillips, 53, who lives in The Bronx, tried to ship what he believed to be a large spool of industrial carbon fiber to the Iranian capital – despite knowing that such exports were against American law, officials said.
The material is used in a wide variety of applications, but also can be utilized in aerospace manufacturing and nuclear engineering.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors say that Phillips first answered an ad on a Web site asking for help in circumventing the American embargo.
But the advertisement actually was a government sting operation run by undercover agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Phillips was arrested in October after agreeing to ship the carbon fiber through the Philippines to disguise its final destination.
“This case stands as a stark warning to those who would violate the Iranian embargo and send sensitive technology and equipment abroad,” Loretta Lynch, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
Phillips faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced.
The technology case comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran.
Earlier this week, Iran accused the United States of complicity in the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran.
The Iranian government also threatened recently to close the Strait of Hormuz – through which 40 percent of the world’s oil is shipped – if sanctions are imposed on its crude exports.
The saber-rattling coincides with efforts by Western powers to take steps to punish Tehran for developing a nuclear program they believe is aimed at producing weapons.
mmaddux@nypost.com