A federal indictment sealed since last July and a Treasury Department freeze issued Tuesday targets a multi-million dollar procurement network that supports Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), which oversees all of Iran's missile industries.

Milad Jafari, an Iranian national, faces 11 counts, including conspiring to export material illegally to Iran and five counts of illegal exports and smuggling. According to a Justice Department release, Jafari routed "specialized metals from the United States through companies in Turkey to several entities in Iran, including some entities that have been sanctioned for involvement in ballistic missile activities."

The group moved metal products, including steel and aluminum alloys for the Iranian aerospace organization. "The allegations in the indictment unsealed today shed light on the reach of Iran's illegal procurement networks and the importance of keeping U.S. materials from being exploited for Iran's weapons development," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

In its announcement, the Treasury Department designated Jafari and five others, along with five businesses as proliferators of weapons of mass destruction.

"The Jafari network has established itself as a lifeline for Iran's missile program by providing essential materials and support for AIO," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. "The Treasury Department will continue to identify and expose channels Iran is using to defy international sanctions, wherever those channels may be located."

The network handled more than $7 million in transactions for companies subordinate to AIO between 2007 and late 2008.

Jafari, an Iranian national, runs the procurement network along with his father, Mohammad Javad Jafari, and brother, Mani Jafari. Jafari's mother, Mahin Falsafi, operates the network's bank accounts at the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI), which was designated by Treasury in October 2008. Milad Jafari, his father, brother and mother were all designated today.

That action freezes any U.S. assets of those named and prohibits others from engaging in business with them.