![In this file photo taken October 10th, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, speaks during a press conference. Ali Kourani, 34, an American of Lebanese descent, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on December 3rd for buying weapons and plotting attacks on behalf of Hizbullah. Berman said the lengthy sentence sent an important message to Hizbullah. [Drew Angerer/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2019/12/04/21236-US-attorney-Hizbullah-700_496.webp)
An American of Lebanese descent was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Tuesday (December 3rd) for buying weapons and plotting attacks on behalf of Lebanon's Hizbullah.
Ali Kourani, 34, was found guilty in May of gathering intelligence on potential attack targets, including New York's JFK International Airport and a federal building in Manhattan.
A federal court in the US financial capital convicted him on eight charges, including conspiracy to use weapons in a violent crime.
Geoffrey Berman, attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the lengthy sentence sent an important message to Hizbullah, which the US considers a terrorist organisation.
"If you are caught planning harm against this city and its residents, you will face justice and be held accountable," he said in a statement.
Born in Lebanon but naturalised by the US in 2009, Kourani attended several Hizbullah training camps in his country of birth and took orders from agents of the Iran-backed militia after his 2003 arrival in the US.
Hizbullah was created by Iran in the early 1980s and has been blamed for attacks in France, Lebanon and Bulgaria, among others.
