Iran slams U.S. jailing of engineer for documents smuggling
The Iranian government has criticized the decision by a U.S. court to sentence an engineer with dual citizenship to more than eight years in prison for trying to send sensitive military documents to Iran.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency on Sunday quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham as saying ”the sentence for Mozaffar Khazaee is totally unfair.”
Khazaee was sentenced Oct. 23 to more than eight years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for trying to send hundreds of sensitive U.S. military documents to Iran as he tried to get teaching jobs at state-run universities there.
Prosecutors said Khazaee stole and shared with contacts in Iran materials related to the Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the F-22 Raptor and other U.S. military jet engine programs. AP
Iraq, Afghanistan conflict heroes honored by namesake ships
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began more than a decade ago _ long enough that the Navy’s newest warships are being named for some of those conflicts’ heroes.
Shipbuilder Bath Iron Works Oct. 24 christened the USS Rafael Peralta, named for a Marine who died battling insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq. Fellow Marines say Peralta covered a grenade after being shot, protecting others from the deadly blast.
The Peralta is one of four destroyers to bear the names of servicemen from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The USS Jason Dunham was named for a Marine killed in Iraq and the USS Michael Murphy was named for a Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan. Both are already in service. The fourth is the future USS Michael Monsoor, named for a Navy SEAL who died in Iraq. AP