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News ID: 73825
Publish Date : 11 December 2019 - 21:54

U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Shipping Lines, Biggest Airline

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The United States on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on Iran’s biggest airline and its shipping industry.
Washington targeted three general sales agents of Mahan Air over what it claimed the role the airline has played in weapons of mass destruction proliferation, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters.
Pompeo announced the sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its China-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping, as well as Mahan Air. The move is meant to "put the world on notice those who engage in illicit transactions with these companies will risk exposure to sanctions for themselves,” he said.
The preposterous claims fly in the face of repeated reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which has always confirmed the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
The occupying regime of Israel, widely believed to possess hundreds of nuclear warheads, is on the receiving end of the United States’ military aid.  
In Iran, Mahan has the best reputation for safety. Mahan has managed to circumvent U.S. restrictions by buying spare parts and second-hand planes, including Airbus, from other countries.
Germany and France banned Mahan this year, and Italy will soon follow in response to U.S. pressure.
Mahan still flies to Spain and to Iranian neighbors such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Russia. Its Asian destinations also include China, India, Thailand and Malaysia.
The U.S. Treasury accused IRISL of being involved in smuggling aid from Iran to Yemen on behalf of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and its foreign paramilitary arm, the Quds Force.
The latest sanctions target Iranian businessman Abdolhussein Khedri and his companies Khedri Jahan Darya Co and Maritime Silk Road LLC for alleged shipping operations on behalf of the IRGC-QF.
Mahan Air has previously been blacklisted for alleged support it has provided to the IRGC-QF, Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to a Treasury Department statement.
The Treasury sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of those targeted and prohibit Americans from doing business with them.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a statement, accused Iran of using its aviation and shipping industries to supply with weapons and contributing to humanitarian crises in Syria and Yemen.
In reality, the humanitarian crisis in Syria is the result of eight years of war which the U.S. and its allies have been waging on the Arab country with the help of many militant groups and the most brutal Takfiri terrorists.  
Iran has been helping the Syrian government with funds and humanitarian assistance and the country’s army with military advice, enabling the nation to redeem most of its territories from the occupation of terrorists.
In Yemen, all international humanitarian and rights groups blame the impoverished nation’s humanitarian crisis on a devastating war being waged by Saudi Arabia.
The United States is the key supplier of weapons to the war, beside providing Saudi warplanes with coordinates of targets for bombing and mid-air fuelling.
Brian Hook, the top state department official for Iran, said the sanctions were designed to curb Iranian missile capabilities.
"We’ve seen an expansion under the Iran nuclear deal of Iranian ballistic missile testing and proliferation,” Hook said.