The United States sanctioned two companies based in the United Arab Emirates for their work with Iran’s Mahan Air.
Parthia Cargo and Delta Parts Supply FZC both provided material support to the airline, including “key parts and logistics services,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a Wednesday news release announcing the sanctions. The department also sanctioned Amin Mahdavi, the Iranian CEO of Parthia who lives in the UAE.
“The Iranian regime uses Mahan Air as a tool to spread its destabilizing agenda around the world, including to the corrupt regimes in Syria and Venezuela, as well as terrorist groups throughout the Middle East,” said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. “The United States will continue to take action against those supporting this airline.”
While Mahan Air conducts civilian flights, it is blacklisted by the U.S. government for its ties to Iran’s Quds Force. The Quds Force is an elite tactical unit that is responsible for special operations in foreign countries, including support for Iranian proxy groups such as Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It gained much attention in January when the U.S. killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike.
“Mahan Air has transported [Quds Force] operatives, weapons, equipment, and funds abroad in support of the terrorist group’s regional operations, and has also moved weapons and personnel for Hezbollah,” the Treasury Department news release said. “Since the onset of the Syrian civil war, Mahan Air has routinely flown fighters and materiel to Syria to prop up the Assad regime, which has contributed to the regime’s atrocities and displacement of civilians.”
Since the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, it has levied heavy sanctions against Iran and companies that do business with the regime as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign designed to squeeze the country. The U.S. has also imposed sanctions on Iran’s ally Syria and on members of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad’s family.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the State Department for comment.
