US: Treasury Designates Iranian Commercial Airline Linked to Iran's Support for Terrorism

http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1322.aspx

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today the designation of Iranian commercial airline Mahan Air pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 for providing financial, material and technological support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). Based in Tehran, Mahan Air provides transportation, funds transfers and personnel travel services to the IRGC-QF.

“Mahan Air’s close coordination with the IRGC-QF – secretly ferrying operatives, weapons and funds on its flights – reveals yet another facet of the IRGC’s extensive infiltration of Iran’s commercial sector to facilitate its support for terrorism,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. “Following the revelation about the IRGC-QF’s use of the international financial system to fund its murder-for-hire plot, today’s action highlights further the undeniable risks of doing business with Iran.”

Mahan Air provided travel services to IRGC-QF personnel flown to and from Iran and Syria for military training. Mahan Air also facilitated the covert travel of suspected IRGC-QF officers into and out of Iraq by bypassing normal security procedures and not including information on flight manifests to eliminate records of the IRGC-QF travel.

Mahan Air crews have facilitated IRGC-QF arms shipments. Funds were also transferred via Mahan Air for the procurement of controlled goods by the IRGC-QF.

In addition to the reasons for which Mahan Air is being designated today, Mahan Air also provides transportation services to Hizballah, a Lebanon-based designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Mahan Air has transported personnel, weapons and goods on behalf of Hizballah and omitted from Mahan Air cargo manifests secret weapons shipments bound for Hizballah.

As a result of today’s action, U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with Mahan Air and any assets it may hold under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.

Identifying Information:

Entity: Mahan Air
AKA: Mahan Travel Company
Address: Mahan Air Tower, 21st Floor, Azadeghan Street, Karaj Highway, P.O. Box 14515-411, Tehran, Iran
Alt. Address: Mahan Air Tower, Azadegan St., Karaj Highway, Tehran 1481655761, Iran P.O. Box 411-14515