WASHINGTON (AP) – An Iranian airline, backed by the country’s notorious Revolutionary Guard and used to ferry weapons and fighters to support Syria’s government, has acquired rights to fly commercial routes in more than a dozen European and Asian countries in spite of U.S. terror-related sanctions.
The Iranian nuclear agreement, signed by six world powers last year, ended some of the sanctions that had punished and isolated Iran for its nuclear program. But sanctions for ballistic missile research, terrorism, human rights violations and money laundering remain in place.
Mahan Air, the country’s second-largest carrier, is under terror-related sanctions. The U.S. has accused the company of providing “transportation, funds transfers and personnel travel services” to the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Forces, flying them and weapons to Syria to train Hezbollah militants, Syrian army troops and others.
Many countries honored the U.S. terror sanctions and blocked Mahan Air. But weeks before the nuclear deal was signed in July 2015, the airline announced it was launching a route to Munich – its second German destination. A wave of new routes to 15 countries followed, including France, Russia, China and Italy. France and Denmark were added in June 2016, and talks continue to add more routes in Europe.
A U.S. Treasury official told The Associated Press that the U.S. has been trying to get those countries to cooperate with U.S. efforts to block the airline’s financial network, but has met with stiff resistance.