US sanctions 27 Iranian airlines with third country firms targeted

Washington, DC [US], September 9 (ANI): The United States Department of the Treasury has placed 27 Iranian airlines on its Specially Designated Nationals List, effectively targeting every remaining commercial carrier in the country as part of an intensified pressure campaign against Tehran.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the department stated that "Iran's commercial airlines have long supported the Iranian regime's destabilising activities." It added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has routinely utilised ostensibly private airlines to procure and transport weapons, as well as to ferry personnel.
Washington initially sanctioned the Iranian carrier Mahan Air in October 2011, subsequently targeting several companies acting as its general sales agents on July 30.
The latest punitive measures also focus on "covert front companies, foreign intermediaries, and deceptive transhipment routes that Iran relies on to obtain US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology," the Treasury release noted.
Specifically, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four entities based in Türkiye, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan for operating as cargo service providers and general sales agents for Mahan Air. Furthermore, OFAC suspended authorisations that previously permitted overflights and allowed non-US airlines to operate US-origin or US-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.
In a related move, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network under the Treasury Department issued an alert urging global financial institutions to report any procurement networks aiding the Iranian aviation sector. The Treasury release highlighted that Mahan Air acquired at least three Boeing 777 aircraft during the summer of 2026, which were covertly diverted through the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded on Tuesday, asserting that the nation will continue its resistance with strength until the "aggressors" are brought to complete regret.
Taking to the social media platform X, the Iranian leader emphasised the country's opposition to military conflict.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been opposed to war and considered the preservation of the people's interests and ensuring the (West Asia) region's security to lie in refraining from warmongering," Pezeshkian stated.
"However, just as it has courageously risen to defend against aggression up to this day, Iran will continue this resistance with strength until the aggressors are brought to complete regret, and will remain the guardian of the rights of the great Iranian people," he added. (ANI)