U.S. Sanctions 27 Iranian Airlines, Citing Transport of Weapons and Personnel for Regime

The U.S. administration under Donald Trump imposed massive sanctions on 36 entities, individuals, and organizations—including 27 commercial airlines in Iran—on the 8th (local time) as part of an effort to economically isolate Iran.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that day, "We have targeted all remaining airlines in Iran," adding, "Sanctions have been imposed on 36 targets that supported the Iranian regime's aviation sector, which is used to transport weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo."

The latest sanctions include not only 27 Iranian commercial airlines, but also companies in Turkey and Malaysia that provided cargo transportation services to Mahan Air, or mediated the acquisition of Boeing B-777 aircraft by Mahan Air—Iran's largest airline, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019—by bypassing third countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey.

OFAC pointed out regarding the 27 commercial airlines that "they have long supported the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities in the region, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has used ostensibly civilian carriers like Mahan Air to procure weapons and transport personnel."

In addition to OFAC's designation of targets for sanctions, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory that day asking global financial institutions to report networks supporting Iran's aviation industry.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a press release, "We promised to impose severe costs on those providing a financial lifeline to the Iranian regime," adding, "Today, we fulfilled that promise through sanctions on companies that continue to support Mahan Air."

Secretary Bessent also emphasized, "Today, we warn everyone doing business with all remaining Iranian airlines sanctioned by us that you are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system."

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.