The United States has enforced sanctions on all remaining Iranian airlines that had previously avoided such measures, escalating economic pressure in its ongoing conflict with Tehran. The US Treasury Department announced that the recent measures target 36 entities for backing Iran’s aviation network, which the government utilizes to transport weapons, personnel, and illegal cargo. This move impacts 27 Iranian carriers as well as companies operating in nations including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan. A Treasury official noted that Washington is effectively removing the entire Iranian aviation industry from the market. The two countries have been in conflict since late February following US-Israeli strikes that eliminated Iran’s supreme leader and top military figures. In response, Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, driving up global oil prices as fighting widened across the Middle East. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the administration is executing an economic D-Day against Iran to sever its financial lifelines. Bessent cautioned that any entities conducting business with the targeted Iranian airlines face the threat of exclusion from the international financial system. Furthermore, the Treasury’s actions focus on third-country companies that assist Mahan Air with proliferation, terrorist-related flights, and the unauthorized acquisition of American-made aircraft, alongside cargo providers and sales agents supporting its international routes. Mahan Air is an Iranian carrier accused of supporting operations for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. While the official did not explicitly mention potential secondary sanctions on firms in nations like China, they emphasized that various measures remain available against service providers.
Source: en.prothomalo.com
