The United States yesterday issued 36 Iran-related sanctions targeting the country’s aviation sector and other companies as part of a broad push to escalate economic pressure on Tehran as the war in the Middle East has moved into a seventh month.
The US Treasury Department said the action was aimed at grounding Iran’s Mahan Air, which was already sanctioned by the US and the European Union, and expanding sanctions to all other Iranian airlines. The sanctions also took aim at covert front companies, cargo handlers, foreign intermediaries and deceptive trans-shipment routes that Washington says Iran relies on to obtain US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.
The Treasury designated 27 Iranian airlines and instructed financial institutions to report any procurement networks supporting Iran’s aviation industry, while designating firms in Türkiye, the UAE, Malaysia and Kazakhstan that it said had helped Iran’s airlines operate and Tehran acquire US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also suspended three Iran-related aviation authorisations that allowed overflights and permitted non-US airlines to fly US-origin or US-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.
Treasury said any foreign firm or individual aiding Iranian airlines through aircraft transfers, cargo services or general sales agent support would face serious consequences.
Miad Maleki, a former senior Treasury official and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the suspension would hit air traffic from Dubai, Doha and Istanbul, shutting Tehran’s main gateways to regional trade and finance. OFAC’s action also closes previous carve-outs that allowed transport of safety parts, fuel and emergency repairs, he said.
Yesterday’s actions marked a sharp escalation of the Trump administration’s renewed push to squeeze Iran’s economy and pressure Tehran to loosen its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. A US naval blockade and tougher sanctions are curbing Iran’s oil exports, restricting access to foreign currency and exposing growing strains in the economy.
The US Treasury has repeatedly targeted global networks supporting Mahan Air. In July, Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia and Iran, including several firms that act as sales agents for the airline. Washington first sanctioned Mahan in 2011 over support it provided to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on a China-based company it accused of acting on behalf of Mahan Air.
Brett Erickson, managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the latest moves were significant.
• US forces struck multiple Iranian tankers tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in response to Iranian attempts to hit a US Navy warship, a US official said, marking a resumption of US attacks on Iran after a two-day pause.
Iranian media reported multiple attacks, with the Tasnim news agency saying a US missile struck an Iranian tanker 6 km from the oil hub of Kharg Island, and the state broadcaster reporting that the US attacked a second oil tanker near the waters of Jask on the Gulf of Oman.
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