That is the conclusion drawn from documents that Judicial Watch, a watchdog nonprofit, says it obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Justice Department's National Security division.

Judicial Watch characterizes itself as a “conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, [which] promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law.”

From just after 9/11 until the middle of last year, according to the organization, Iran and China were “cited for 31 and 20 violations respectively.”

Among the FOIA documents that Judicial Watch says it obtained was a report entitled Significant Export Control Cases Since September 2001, prepared by the DoJ’s Counter Espionage Section (CES), which listed "significant" cases.

The cases cited by Judicial Watch include:


-- U.S. v. Eugene Hsu, et al. (9/21/01): Eugene Hsu, David Chang and Wing Chang were charged with "Conspiracy and an attempt to export military encryption units to China through Singapore." All received guilty verdicts however Wing Chang is still listed as a fugitive.

-- U.S. v. Avassapian (12/03): Sherzhik Avassapian was a Tehran-based broker working for the Iranian Ministry of Defense when he attempted to "solicit and inspect F-14 fighter components, military helicopters and C- 130 aircraft which he intended to ship to Iran via Italy." Avassapian pleaded guilty to issuing false statements.

-- U.S. v. Kwonhwan Park (11/04): Kwonhwan Park was charged with "Exporting Black Hawk engine parts and other military items to China." Pleaded guilty and sentenced to 32 months in prison.

-- U.S. v. Ghassemi, et al. (10/06): Iranian national Jamshid Ghassemi and Aurel Fratila were charged with "Conspiracy to export munition list items -- including accelerometers and gyroscopes for missiles and spacecraft -- to Iran without a license." Ghassemi and Fratila are at large in Thailand and Romania respectively. Justice is currently seeking their deportation.

According to Judicial Watch, which cited a DoJ document: "The illegal exports bound for Iran have involved such items as missile guidance systems, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) components, military aircraft parts, night vision systems and other materials. The illegal exports to China have involved rocket launch data, Space Shuttle technology, missile technology, naval warship data, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or 'drone' technology, thermal imaging systems, military night vision systems and other materials."