President Trump’s administration has sanctioned a Thailand-based aviation company for working with Iran’s top “terrorist-affiliated airline,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday.
“This Thailand-based company has disregarded numerous U.S. warnings, issued publicly and delivered bilaterally to the Thai government, to sever ties with Mahan Air,” Mnuchin said. “This action should serve as a warning that the U.S. is intent on ensuring that the aviation industry ceases providing services to, and profiting from, this terrorist-affiliated airline.”
That move expands the use of secondary sanctions to enforce Trump’s effort to isolate the rogue regime by blacklisting third-party companies that work with Iranian entities. It also takes a step toward fulfilling a promise made a day earlier to lawmakers who worry that Trump has flinched from implementing sanctions mandated by federal law.
“Treasury is cutting off yet another service provider acting on behalf of Mahan Air, a sanctioned airline that transports soldiers and supplies to Assad and fuels terrorist activities across the region,” Mnuchin said.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce put a spotlight on Mahan Air during a Thursday hearing, but he emphasized that the administration shouldn’t hesitate to impose the sanctions on major adversaries such as Russia.
“I can’t understand why action has not been taken, for example, against the Russian entities that provide material support to Iran’s Mahan Air,” Royce said. “We should be examining and designating the Russian individuals and companies that support Mahan with maintenance, ticketing services, cargo sales and more. This is low-hanging fruit.”
The Treasury Department official in attendance affirmed the lawmaker’s assessment. “We have begun designating companies that foolishly remain intertwined with Mahan Air,” Assistant Secretary Mardhall said. “We did so in the case of Malaysia; other actions are imminent … this is a matter we very much see eye to eye on and we will continue to target.”
