Iran's foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday to protest the UK government's extradition to the US of an Iranian national accused of bypassing the American sanctions on Tehran.
Saeid Haji Agha Mousaei, 53, appeared in Chicago federal court on Monday after being extradited from the UK. He faces charges related to a long-term conspiracy to bypass US export restrictions and redirect advanced American electronic testing technology to Iran through third-party countries.
In a statement on Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry said the British ambassador to Tehran, Simon Shercliff, was summoned to receive Iran's "strong protest against the unlawful arrest of the Iranian national and his extradition to the US."
The US Justice Department says Mousaei was a manager of Dubai-based defendant company Millennium Product Company LLC (MPC). "As alleged, from in or about January 2014 through at least August 2018, Mousaei, MPC and others, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain controlled electronics with military applications, including signals equipment like oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, for export and re-export to Iran."
Mousaei, who was arrested in the United Kingdom on Jan. 24, 2023, pursuant to an Interpol diffusion notice, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the US Justice Department.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that "efforts are underway" to secure his release but did not provide any further details as to how exactly it plans to have him released from the US custody.
The Islamic Republic has a history of detaining European and American nationals visiting Iran and using them for securing the release of Iranian prisoners or assets frozen abroad, so much so that it has turned into a strategic tool in its foreign policy.
This controversial approach has been utilized by Tehran for decades, resulting in numerous high-profile cases that have captured global attention. A recent example involves the release of five American nationals in exchange for the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks because of the US sanctions.
Iran's use of "hostages" as a bargaining chip is not limited to the United States. In 2022, a historical military debt of £400 million was transferred from Britain to Tehran in exchange for two British-Iranian prisoners.
Last month, in one of the most controversial cases, Sweden extradited Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian jailor convicted of committing crimes against humanity, in exchange for Tehran's release of two Swedish nationals.
Western governments have repeatedly advised their citizens against visiting Iran, warning about the risk of kidnapping and arbitrary arrest for future use as hostages.