President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran might be making it easier for the rogue regime to fly weapons into Syria, a group of Republican senators warned.
Obama’s team agreed to allow major airplane manufacturers to sell almost 200 airplanes to Iran Air, an airline that had been under sanction for transporting weapons on behalf of terrorists. The company may still be doing so, given that Iran Air planes are flying the supply routes used to send military supplies to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. But it’s also possible that other Iranian airlines that remain sanctioned will use the planes to transport weapons.
“To date, we have seen no proof of a change in the conduct that prompted the initial sanctions on Iran Air,” Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., and four other senators wrote in a letter to a senior Treasury Department official. “In fact, we have seen evidence to the contrary. Open source reports have shown that Iran Air continues to fly from known IRGC bases in Iran to Syria. While Mahan Air — which remains under U.S. sanctions — has been the primary airline for sending military supplies and personnel to Syria, Iran Air has flown dozens of similar routes.”
The lawmakers want the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence to explain how they expect to prevent the newly-sold airplanes from being used for terrorist purposes. They also asked more technical questions, such as how the banks that facilitate the sales will be protected from liability, and whether private insurance companies that cover the aircraft will need separate licenses to protect them from terrorism-related lawsuits.
“We want to ensure that proper end-use monitoring mechanisms are in place for these aircraft,” Perdue — joined by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson — wrote in the Oct. 6 letter. “The integrity of sales allowed by the U.S. Treasury Department is of great importance to all of us.”
The letter represents another challenge to the Obama administration’s efforts to implement the Iran deal, as Iranian leaders have accused the U.S. government of undermining the deal by making it difficult for them to reap the benefits of the pact. “[I]n practice they create Iranophobia so no one does business with Iran,” Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei complained in May.
Republican lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have put a spotlight on private companies that work with Iran, and Boeing in particular, citing the regime’s support for international terrorism. “[I]t is not unreasonable to suspect that Iran will allow other Iranian carriers — including those that are still sanctioned — such as Mahan Air, to use these planes through informal arrangements,” Perdue and the other senators wrote.
