UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Massoud NOUSHFAR; Zohreh Shayesteh and Kamran Shayesteh, Defendants-Appellants

EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:

This case involves a conspiracy to smuggle valuable Persian rugs into the United States in violation of an Executive Order. Because the jury was allowed during deliberations to listen to audiotapes never played in open court, we reverse the convictions and remand for a new trial.

FACTS

Kamran Shayesteh and his wife Zohreh own and manage the Galleria deFarsh, a large rug store in Burlingame, California. In 1987, a presidential order imposed an embargo on virtually all Iranian goods. See Exec. Order No. 12613 (Oct. 29, 1987), 31 C.F.R. §§ 560.201, 560.403. The…