| A US citizen of Iranian origin was arrested after trying to take a loaded gun and a knife onto a plane bound for Washington DC, police said on Friday. Ali Reza Khatami, 65, a retired construction business owner who has lived in the United States for 40 years, was arrested on Thursday at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, southern California. Police said baggage scanners found a .38 caliber gun and a 6-inch knife in his carry-on bag. It was not clear why Khatami had the weapons in his baggage, but police said the man had no apparent links with any extremist groups. "He does not appear on any terrorist watch list," said Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino. Khatami is being held in custody and is expected to be charged with a firearms offense. |