Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Iran has been pushed towards further isolation after the United States unleashed sweeping new sanctions targeting the country’s aviation sector and the international networks helping keep its airlines operating. The US Treasury Department announced 36 Iran-related sanctions on Tuesday, targeting 27 Iranian carriers along with foreign firms involved in aircraft transfers, cargo operations and aviation services.
The latest measures are designed to further isolate Iran’s aviation sector, with the Treasury specifically seeking to disrupt the operations of Mahan Air, which has already been sanctioned by both the United States and the European Union.
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As part of Donald Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’ campaign against Tehran, the US is widening its assault beyond Iran’s airlines to target the overseas networks that help keep the country’s aviation sector functioning. The campaign, formally launched as Operation Economic Outcast on August 24, has identified aviation as one of five critical Iranian economic sectors exposed to expanded sanctions.
US MOVES TO ISOLATE IRAN’S AIRLINES
The Treasury said its latest action targets the networks that allow Iran’s aviation industry to function despite years of international restrictions. These networks include companies operating through Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.
US authorities have also instructed financial institutions to report procurement networks connected to Iran’s aviation industry. The move is intended to make it harder for Iranian airlines and their overseas partners to move money, acquire equipment and maintain access to international services.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has separately suspended three aviation-related authorisations. Those permissions had allowed certain overflights and enabled non-US airlines to operate US-origin or US-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.
Miad Maleki, a former senior Treasury official and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the decision could have a significant effect on Tehran’s international air links.
He said the suspension would affect air traffic from Dubai, Doha and Istanbul, effectively cutting off some of Tehran’s most important gateways to regional trade and finance. Maleki also said the move ends previous exemptions covering safety parts, fuel and emergency repairs.
The measures could therefore put additional pressure on an aviation system that has struggled for years to obtain aircraft, replacement components and other equipment because of US sanctions.
FOREIGN COMPANIES ALSO IN CROSSHAIRS
The US Treasury has made clear that the sanctions are not limited to Iranian airlines.
Officials said foreign companies and individuals that assist Iranian carriers through aircraft transfers, cargo services or general sales agent arrangements could also face penalties. The warning extends the reach of the sanctions beyond Iran’s borders and raises the risks for companies that continue doing business with its airlines.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had warned last week that airlines could become the next target of Washington’s sanctions campaign, alongside the digital assets and maritime sectors.
“Under Operation Economic Outcast, we promised severe consequences for those providing financial lifelines to the Iranian regime,” Bessent said in a statement on Tuesday. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system.”
The Treasury designated 27 Iranian airlines under an executive order targeting Iran’s aviation sector. The list includes Air Shiraz, Asa Jet Airline, Ata Airlines Company, Atlas Aviation Group, Ava Airlines, Chabahar Airlines Company, Erwan Airline Company, Fly Kish Airlines, Fly Persia Airlines, Iran Air Tour, Iran Aseman Airlines, Jsky Airlines, Kish Airlines, Karun Airlines Company, Lad Airways, Mehr Airways, Nasim Air, Pars Oghyanous Kish Company, Qeshm Air, Raimon Airways, Saha Airlines, Sepehran Airlines, Soroush Air, Taban Airlines, Toos Airlines, Varesh Airlines and Zagros Airlines.
US TIGHTENS THE NOOSE AROUND MAHAN AIR
Mahan Air has been the main focus of US sanctions for years. Washington first designated the airline in 2011, accusing it of providing support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The US has repeatedly pursued companies and individuals around the world that it says have helped Mahan Air circumvent restrictions. In July, Treasury sanctioned six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia and Iran, including companies that operated as sales agents for the airline.
The latest action goes further by targeting companies that Washington says helped Mahan Air obtain at least three Boeing 777 aircraft during the summer after the planes had been retired elsewhere.
Among those sanctioned was Ibrahim Ali Mohamed Mohamed Mahran, an Egyptian citizen based in the UAE who serves as chief executive of ECT Aviation Support. The British unit of the company was also targeted. OFAC also sanctioned two companies based in Turkey and Malaysia over their alleged roles in servicing Mahan Air’s international flights and coordinating cargo shipments.
Washington had previously taken similar action against companies supporting the airline. In 2020, it sanctioned a China-based company that it accused of acting on Mahan Air’s behalf.
SANCTIONS COULD DEEPEN ECONOMIC PRESSURE
The latest measures are part of Washington’s wider campaign to squeeze Iran’s economy by restricting its access to foreign currency and weakening its oil revenues. The pressure is also aimed at Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz. With tougher sanctions and a US naval blockade limiting Iran’s oil exports and access to international financial channels, the measures are adding to the economic strain facing Tehran.
Brett Erickson, managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, described the aviation measures as a major expansion of the US sanctions campaign.
“The United States is using sanctions to effectively blockade Iran’s aviation sector from the rest of the world,” he told Reuters. “That represents a major expansion of the economic war, with foreseeable consequences for civilian travel, commerce, supply chains and Iran’s ability to sustain their strained economy.”
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
