Washington, Nov 15 (IANS): The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has said that an Iranian businessman was sentenced to 46 months in prison for violating American sanctions against Tehran.

In a statement on Thursday, the DOJ alleged that Behzad Pourghannad had exported carbon fibre from the US to Iran between 2008 and 2013, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Behzad Pourghannad conspired to circumvent US export controls on carbon fiber, a substance with numerous military and aerospace applications," said attorney Geoffrey Berman for the Southern District of New York.

Pourghannad and two others had shipments of carbon fibre shipped to a third country under labels of other materials to evade U.S. customs, according to the press release.

He was arrested in Germany in May 2017 and extradited to the US this July.

He pleaded guilty in a US court in August.

Due to US sanctions on Iran, a permission from the Department of Treasury must be obtained to export certain materials to Tehran.