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US SAYS TURKISH FIRMS HELPED IRANIAN AIRLINE SKIRT SANCTIONS
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 12 2013
12 December 2013 /REUTERS, WASHINGTON
Nineteen people and companies in Europe and Asia, majority of the
companies and people being based in Turkey, acted as middlemen for
Iranian airline Mahan Air, helping it procure supplies from the United
States in violation of US sanctions, the US Commerce Department said
on Wednesday.
The other people and companies were found to be in Armenia, Greece,
Iran, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. They included Greece's
Aeolian Airlines and Armenia's Vertir Airlines, both small charter
firms.
The regulatory notice from the department posted online provided
further insight into the operations of Mahan Air, a commercial
airline that the United States has accused of providing funds and
transport for Iran's elite forces and flying weapons to Syria. The
notice charged that the middlemen "engaged in the development and
operation of an illicit aviation procurement network designed to
evade the US government's sanctions against Iran."
The Commerce Department added the firms to its "Entity List," which
largely prohibits them from buying restricted items from the United
States, such as aircraft engines or spare parts. Under a longstanding
US trade embargo, US companies are not allowed to sell goods to Iran
without special permission from the government.
Mahan is one of only four Iranian airlines that has passed
international safety audits, despite being blocked from legally buying
US spare parts. The United States has strict restrictions on exports
to Iran in part due to concerns the goods could also be used for
military purposes or to support Tehran's nuclear program. The West
suspects Iran's nuclear activities are aimed at producing nuclear
bombs, a charge Tehran denies.
Commerce first blacklisted Mahan Air in 2008, after it found the
company imported three Boeing Co 747 jumbo jets into Iran without U.S.
authorization. Britain's Balli Group Plc later paid $2 million in
criminal fines and $15 million in civil fines tied to the same charges.
Mahan Air later continued to violate US export laws, trying to find
ways to obtain aircraft, engines and computer motherboards from the
United States, according to previous Commerce notices. The Treasury
Department has also accused Mahan Air of ferrying troops, equipment
and weapons to support the government of President Bashar al-Assad
in Syria's civil war.
Under an interim deal reached between six world powers and Iran last
month to ease a decade-long standoff over Tehran's nuclear program,
Iran will be allowed limited purchases of aircraft parts and repairs,
meant to help restore old aircraft that have faced a raft of safety
issues. The United States on Thursday issued new sanctions against
several companies and individuals for supporting Iran's nuclear
program, US officials said in a statement.
Treasury and State Department officials said the move shows the
recent agreement reached in Geneva over Iran "does not, and will not,
interfere with our continued efforts to expose and disrupt those
supporting Iran's nuclear program or seeking to evade our sanctions."
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 12 2013
12 December 2013 /REUTERS, WASHINGTON
Nineteen people and companies in Europe and Asia, majority of the
companies and people being based in Turkey, acted as middlemen for
Iranian airline Mahan Air, helping it procure supplies from the United
States in violation of US sanctions, the US Commerce Department said
on Wednesday.
The other people and companies were found to be in Armenia, Greece,
Iran, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. They included Greece's
Aeolian Airlines and Armenia's Vertir Airlines, both small charter
firms.
The regulatory notice from the department posted online provided
further insight into the operations of Mahan Air, a commercial
airline that the United States has accused of providing funds and
transport for Iran's elite forces and flying weapons to Syria. The
notice charged that the middlemen "engaged in the development and
operation of an illicit aviation procurement network designed to
evade the US government's sanctions against Iran."
The Commerce Department added the firms to its "Entity List," which
largely prohibits them from buying restricted items from the United
States, such as aircraft engines or spare parts. Under a longstanding
US trade embargo, US companies are not allowed to sell goods to Iran
without special permission from the government.
Mahan is one of only four Iranian airlines that has passed
international safety audits, despite being blocked from legally buying
US spare parts. The United States has strict restrictions on exports
to Iran in part due to concerns the goods could also be used for
military purposes or to support Tehran's nuclear program. The West
suspects Iran's nuclear activities are aimed at producing nuclear
bombs, a charge Tehran denies.
Commerce first blacklisted Mahan Air in 2008, after it found the
company imported three Boeing Co 747 jumbo jets into Iran without U.S.
authorization. Britain's Balli Group Plc later paid $2 million in
criminal fines and $15 million in civil fines tied to the same charges.
Mahan Air later continued to violate US export laws, trying to find
ways to obtain aircraft, engines and computer motherboards from the
United States, according to previous Commerce notices. The Treasury
Department has also accused Mahan Air of ferrying troops, equipment
and weapons to support the government of President Bashar al-Assad
in Syria's civil war.
Under an interim deal reached between six world powers and Iran last
month to ease a decade-long standoff over Tehran's nuclear program,
Iran will be allowed limited purchases of aircraft parts and repairs,
meant to help restore old aircraft that have faced a raft of safety
issues. The United States on Thursday issued new sanctions against
several companies and individuals for supporting Iran's nuclear
program, US officials said in a statement.
Treasury and State Department officials said the move shows the
recent agreement reached in Geneva over Iran "does not, and will not,
interfere with our continued efforts to expose and disrupt those
supporting Iran's nuclear program or seeking to evade our sanctions."