US sanctions dozens of Iranian airlines and aviation intermediaries in expanded Iran crackdown

US Sanctions Dozens Of Iranian Airlines As Tehran-Favored Mahan Air Defiant, Expands Flights As part of the latest in the Trump-Bessent "asphyxiation of this regime" approach to Iran after six months of military action failed to accomplish most White House aims, the Trump administration on Tuesday announced it is sanctioning all Iranian airlines in a massive aviation crackdown. The Treasury statement listed 27 Iranian air carriers and nine entities as part of an effort to deny the Iranian government the ability to move "weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo". via IRNA "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," Bessent said. On the list is Ava Airlines, Fly Persia, and Mehr Airways - and others, after the US first sanctioned Mahan Air in 2011, which was the first such instance of Washington sanctioning an Iranian commercial airline. Related secondary sanctions were implemented on top of the direct airline measures. "The Treasury Department also sanctioned Turkey-based firms that have coordinated shipments, including drone components and industrial equipment destined for Iran, on behalf of Mahan Air, and it sanctioned a Turkey-based entity that has served as a general sales agent for Mahan Air and coordinated shipments on behalf of the blacklisted airline," The Hill details. "Other sanctioned entities with ties to Mahan are based in Malaysia and Kazakhstan," the report further indicates. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked the 'Economic D-Day' and 'Operation Epic Outcast' sanctions, saying that the fallout of the war "has been disastrous for America, including its standing worldwide." "After failing to achieve its aims through sanctions or war, Washington’s 'novel' solution is…more sanctions. Seriously?" Araghchi wrote Tuesday afternoon. The Wall Street Journal has meanwhile noted that Mahan and others continue defying sanctions and the US pressure campaign, while still clearly struggling: Out-of-date aircraft: Mahan’s three dozen planes tend to be aging, secondhand Boeing and Airbus aircraft, some in service for as long as 35 years. Passengers who post about their trips on social media say there is no onboard entertainment or alcohol, and tickets have to be purchased in cash instead of international credit or debit cards. New horizons: Despite the lack of amenities, and the sanctions scrutiny, Mahan has been adding new destinations for passenger and cargo services during the war between the U.S. and Iran. In this new @ForeignAffairs essay, I argue that US officials are being too triumphant about Iran’s economic downturn. Iran’s leaders are using inflation to engage in financial repression. Counterintuitively, reduced economic activity is helping the state stave off a deeper… pic.twitter.com/jRtAZYEnHG — Esfandyar Batmanghelidj (@yarbatman) September 8, 2026 In recent years the Islamic Republic has suffered some significant aerial disasters, which included the May 19, 2024 death of President Ebrahim Raisi. His military helicopter went down in a rugged, mountainous area of northwestern Iran. Some speculate that lack of airline parts and aging aircraft, due to the long-standing US targeting of the industry, has increased the chances of aviation disasters. Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 09:20

Trump administration sanctions all Iranian airlines in aviation crackdown Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 09/08/2026 - 20:59 The Treasury suspended the ability of non-US airlines to operate any route to Iran that originates in US Passengers disembark from a privately owned Mahan Air flight at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on 15 September 2021 (Karim Sahib/AFP) Off The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it is sanctioning 27 Iranian air carriers in a bid to deny the government in Tehran the ability to move "weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo", the Treasury said in a statement. The move is part of Operation Economic Outcast, the expanded sanctions project that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said is meant to choke off Iran's access to the global economy. The US first sanctioned an Iranian commercial airline, Mahan Air, in 2011.  "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," Bessent said on Tuesday. The carriers include Ava Airlines, Fly Persia, and Mehr Airways.  The Treasury named 36 targets in all to the blacklist, including what it described as "covert front companies, foreign intermediaries, and deceptive transshipment routes that Iran relies on to obtain US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology".  Those include UAE-based ECT Aviation Support LLC, its UAE-based chief, the Egyptian national Ibrahim Ali Mohamed Mohamed Mahran, and Turkey-based Sky Phoenix.  The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a global alert asking financial institutions to report procurement networks supporting Iran’s aviation industry.  Its Office of Foreign Assets Control also suspended authorisations that previously allowed non-US airlines to operate a route or a US-made jet that would eventually fly into Iran, potentially complicating travel for Iranian Americans with families in Iran and denying Tehran the ability to collect overflight fees. "Any person that assists Iran’s aviation sector, from the provision of general sales agent services through to support to Iran’s covert aircraft procurement schemes, will be held accountable," the Treasury said. Sanctioned individuals and entities will have all their US assets frozen and will be denied access to the US-dominated global banking system. Americans and US residents are prohibited from assisting sanctioned parties.  'Asphyxiation' Last month, Bessent announced a new sanctions project against Iran and its "enablers", towards what he described as an "asphyxiation of this regime" amid the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran threatens South Korean assets if Seoul joins Hormuz mission Read More » "Iran now faces a very clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy," Bessent told reporters in Washington, DC.  It remains unclear how "a path to normalcy" may work, given the Trump administration has only ever tightened sanctions on Iran since its first iteration in the White House in 2017.  "We are launching Operation Economic Outcast to foreclose every other option available to the Iranian regime," Bessent declared. "America is no longer managing the Iranian threat. We are ending it."  Using a "zero leakage approach", he said the Treasury had "mapped every node, every facilitator, and every network that Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions", and that President Donald Trump had already made phone calls to counterparts around the world "with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime".  He would not name those countries, nor the 60 other entities and individuals that will reportedly see secondary sanctions in the coming days and weeks.  When pressed on why the sanctions were not in place with immediate effect, Bessent replied: "Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" "Every country has a defined timeline to shut down activities we have identified. If they do not take action, we will do so unilaterally through Treasury authorities," he said. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

US sanctions 27 Iranian airlines The US Treasury announced new sanctions on 36 entities, including 27 Iranian airlines, for “supporting Iran’s aviation sector”. The US Treasury said in a statement on Tuesday that the Iranian government uses the aviation sector to “move weapons, personnel and illicit cargo” and the sanctions were following through on the US's promise to impose “sever consequences” on entities providing “financial lifelines” to Iran. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, warning that “you are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system.”