Iran Press/Europe: Jalal Rohollahnejad, 41, was detained at Nice airport on February 2 after arriving from Tehran via Moscow, having obtained a French visa for professional reasons.
According to court officials, two US judges for the District of Columbia suspect Rohollahnejad was involved in a bid to export sensitive industrial equipment to Iran, AFP reported.
If convicted for his alleged actions, Rohollahnejad could face up to 60 years behind bars.
At Tuesday’s hearing in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence, his lawyers denied the charges, saying they were simply part of Washington’s campaign to cut off Iran’s economic lifelines.
“Is it possible that the court has forgotten the situation between the US and Iran, two countries in a cold war?” said one lawyer, Jean-Yves Le Borgne.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted under the accord.
Washington reinstated a series of unilateral sanctions against Iran in early August and re-impose a second batch in November which as Trump said the goal was to bring Iranian oil exports to zero. 101/211/202
