The U.S. Sanctions Two Intermediary Airlines for Airbus Purchases for Iran

On Thursday, May 20, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned two companies, one Iraqi and one Emirati, that had acted as intermediaries in the purchase of second-hand Airbus aircraft for Mahan Air. According to reports, the Treasury Department targeted the Iraqi company 'Al-Nasser' and the Emirati company 'Sky Blue Bird' for assisting Mahan Air in acquiring these aircraft. The U.S. has sanctioned these two companies for providing eight Airbus A340s and one Airbus A320 to Mahan Air. Mahan Air was blacklisted by the U.S. in 2011 for providing services to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The U.S. accused the airline of participating in the transfer of military personnel and equipment to the Assad regime in Syria. Both the IRGC and Hezbollah are listed as terrorist organizations. The U.S. Treasury stated that Al-Nasser purchased these second-hand Airbus aircraft from European companies. No further details were provided by the Treasury. On the same day, the U.S. also sanctioned Osim Shamout, a Syrian businessman, for collaborating with Mahan Air to purchase aircraft spare parts. This sanction against the Iraqi company comes two days after Israel announced that it had previously requested the U.S. to prevent the sale of second-hand Airbus aircraft to Iran. According to Reuters, a senior Israeli official stated that the purchase of second-hand passenger aircraft by Iran violated 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. The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters, 'Israel was informed through intelligence sources before the purchase of these aircraft, which is a very significant violation of U.S. sanctions. We informed the U.S. government about this matter. Unfortunately, this deal was executed, and preventing it did not yield results.' The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on May 11 that Mahan Air had recently purchased nine second-hand Airbus aircraft. In this context, Maqsoud Asadi Samani, the Secretary of the Association of Airline Companies, stated on May 10 that 'these nine Airbus aircraft belong to Mahan Air, and their purchase and transfer reached the final stages late last week and were then collectively brought into the country.' According to ISNA, the purchase of these nine aircraft has broken the record for the purchase and entry of aircraft into the country in one batch since the Islamic Revolution.