Israel: Iran Violated Sanctions by Purchasing Second-Hand Aircraft

A senior Israeli official claims that Iran's purchase of second-hand passenger planes constitutes a violation of U.S. sanctions against the country, and despite warnings from the Israeli government to the U.S., the purchase was carried out without any obstacles. On May 10, ISNA reported, citing Abbas Akhoundi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, that Iran has purchased fifteen passenger aircraft in the past three months. The Iranian official did not specify where or how these aircraft were acquired. Long-standing sanctions on Iran's purchase of aircraft parts were suspended following a temporary agreement between Tehran and global powers in late 2013. However, under unilateral U.S. sanctions, the sale of aircraft to Iran remains prohibited. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters, stated, 'Israel was informed through intelligence sources before the purchase of these aircraft, which is a significant violation of U.S. sanctions. We informed the U.S. government about this matter. Unfortunately, the deal went through, and attempts to prevent it were unsuccessful.' It seems the Israeli official aims to indicate that the U.S. government is lenient in enforcing sanctions against Iran, contrary to its promises to continue sanctions even if a nuclear agreement is reached. Israel, Iran's main adversary and the only nuclear power in the Middle East, believes that Iran should not be trusted in fulfilling its commitments under this agreement. The Israeli official mentioned that the aircraft in question were sold to an Iranian airline that is on the U.S. sanctions blacklist due to its cooperation with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. The official did not name the airline. However, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on May 11 that Mahan Air, which is on the U.S. sanctions list, recently purchased nine second-hand Airbus aircraft. IRNA did not disclose the source of the aircraft sales. The British newspaper Financial Times reported last week that this deal was apparently conducted very complexly with several European companies that were unaware of the details. The U.S. Commerce Department first placed Mahan Air on its sanctions list in 2008 after learning that the airline had purchased three Boeing 747s without permission. The U.S. Treasury Department has also accused Mahan Air of participating in the transfer of military personnel and equipment for Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. So far, American and Iranian officials have not reacted to this matter. Negotiations between six global powers and Iran for a final agreement on its nuclear programs are ongoing and must conclude by the end of June. Under this agreement, in exchange for limiting Iran's nuclear activities, some international sanctions against the country will be gradually lifted. The Iranian government has consistently denied Western suspicions regarding the military capabilities of its nuclear programs and emphasizes that uranium enrichment in the country is solely for the purpose of generating nuclear energy and peaceful uses.