US targets Iran’s airlines with sweeping new sanctions

The US on Tuesday issued 36 ⁠fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector and other companies as part of a broad push to escalate economic pressure on Tehran as the war in the Middle East entered a seventh month.

The US Treasury Department said the action was aimed at grounding Iran’s Mahan Air, already sanctioned by the US and the European Union, and all other Iranian airlines.

The sanctions also ‌took aim at covert front companies, foreign intermediaries and deceptive transshipment routes that Washington says Iran relies on to obtain US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.

The Treasury also issued an alert asking financial institutions to report any procurement networks supporting Iran’s aviation industry, while designating firms based in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that it said helped Tehran procure US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also suspended three Iran-related aviation authorisations that allowed overflights and permitted non-US airlines to fly US-origin or US-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.

Tuesday’s actions marked a sharp escalation ⁠of the Trump administration’s renewed push to squeeze Iran’s economy and pressure Tehran to loosen its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.