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New York CEO gets prison for Iran conspiracy

The CEO of a US company has been sentenced to a prison term for conspiring to send a company in Iran a metallic powder that can be used in missiles.

The CEO of a New York City-based company has been sentenced to over four and a half years in prison for conspiring to send a steel company in Iran a metallic powder that can be used in missiles.

Erdal Kuyumcu, the head of Global Metallurgy LLC, was sentenced Thursday in Brooklyn federal court.

Prosecutors say he conspired to export a powder containing cobalt and nickel without getting a required license.

Such metals are closely regulated by the US Department of Commerce to protect national security.

The defense said the powder is used primarily for industrial gas turbines. But prosecutors say it also has military applications.

They say an intermediary in Turkey was involved with an Iranian steel company linked to nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

By: AP