The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday charged the Obama administration with failing to follow the law by grounding an Iranian airline that provides logistical support to Iranian soldiers fighting in Syria.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., who chairs the panel, accused the Obama administration of ignoring a sanctions law Congress passed by failing to take action against the airline, Mahan Air, and agreeing to cancel Interpol red notices against its chief executive and a senior manager as part of a deal to free five American hostages from Iran.
Royce used a Thursday oversight hearing on the Iran nuclear agreement to insist on an explanation of why the State and Treasury Departments have allowed the airline to continue ferrying its weapons and personnel into Syria. After the Iranian Quds Force commander flew to Moscow for a summit on launching a counter-offensive to bolster Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime, the flights to Syria increased, he said.
“Instead of more actions to ground these planes, the White House agreed to lift an Interpol notice,” Royce said.
If the U.S. is serious about continuing to impose sanctions against Iran that are not impacted by the recent nuclear deal, the U.S. government should take immediate action against any financial institution that deals with the airline, he said.
John Smith, the acting director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, tried to assure Royce that the administration is on the Mahan Air case.
“We continue to look at those targets and we continue to engage in governments around the world to stop working with Mahan Air,” Smith said.
But Royce said it’s not enough.
“It’s one thing to jawbone and support sanctions [against Iran in theory],” Royce said. “And in the meantime, they are flying into Syria on a regular basis and you see what’s happening in Aleppo. As that support comes in, it has dire consequences.”
Even more outrageous, Royce argued, is that some of Mahan Air planes flying into Syria are using U.S. technology purchased in Europe.
Royce referred to media reports of a recent transfer of nine used Airbus aircraft to Mahan Air, eight of which were ferried from Iraq to Iran and purchased in Europe through Al-Naser Airlines, an Iraqi intermediary.
The reports by Reuters and other outlets cited a belief that Al-Naser, a small private carrier, might be fronting for Mahan because it didn’t have a need for the Airbus aircraft. Royce also suggested that large European companies were involved in the sales.
Smith said U.S. authorities are trying to lean on their European counterparts to get to the bottom of the sales, which occurred roughly a month ago.
Royce then pointed out that the U.S. has yet to find “a single bank that is doing business with Mahan.”
