The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Tuesday, September 8, that it had added 36 companies and individuals linked to Iran’s aviation sector to its sanctions list as part of “Operation Economic Rejection.” This measure targets 27 active airlines in Iran, alongside third-country intermediaries, sales agents, and cargo service providers.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated that the Iranian airlines were designated under Executive Order 13902 for operating in the aviation sector of the Iranian economy. Sanctioned carriers include Ata, Chabahar, Iran Air Tour, Aseman, Kish Air, Karun, Qeshm Air, Sepehran, Taban, Zagros, Varesh, and Fly Persia.
The U.S. Treasury also designated several firms based in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan for their links to Mahan Air or its associated networks.
A specific portion of the new sanctions focuses on a procurement network that, according to the U.S. Treasury, procured an American-made Boeing 777 aircraft for Mahan Air via the UAE and Oman. UAE-based “ACT Aviation Support” and Turkey-based “Sky Phoenix” were identified as intermediaries, with the Egyptian-born CEO of the UAE firm also named under the sanctions.
