Belgian arms dealer to plead innocent

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A defense lawyer says a Belgian arms dealer jailed in Alabama and accused of trying to funnel fighter jet parts to Iran will plead innocent to the charges.

Attorney Arthur J. Madden III said Thursday his client, Jacques Monsieur, will enter the plea during a hearing next week in Mobile.

The Justice Department accused Monsieur and an Iranian man of conspiring to buy engines and parts for the F-5 fighter jet and send them to Iran. Such deals aren't allowed without federal approval under the U.S. trade embargo on Iran.

The charges were filed in Alabama because Monsieur and the other man allegedly wired about $110,000 from a bank in the United Arab Emirates to a financial institution in Mobile for airplane parts.