Key facts
- The U.S. Treasury sanctioned 36 Iran-related entities, including 27 airlines.
- The sanctions aim to increase economic pressure on Iran and limit the movement of weapons and personnel.
- The Treasury also targeted front companies and intermediaries involved in Iran's aviation sector.
- Authorisations for non-US airlines operating routes to Iran have been suspended.
- Sanctioned entities will face frozen US assets and denial of access to the US banking system.
The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 36 entities connected to Iran, with a significant focus on the country's aviation sector, as part of an initiative called Operation Economic Outcast. The measures are intended to increase economic pressure on Iran, choke off its access to the global economy, and limit the movement of weapons and personnel.
Among the sanctioned entities are 27 Iranian airlines, including Ava Airlines, Fly Persia, and Mehr Airways. The Treasury also blacklisted entities described as "covert front companies, foreign intermediaries, and deceptive transshipment routes" that Iran relies on for obtaining US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology. These include UAE-based ECT Aviation Support LLC, its chief Ibrahim Ali Mohamed Mohamed Mahran, and Turkey-based Sky Phoenix.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that any person doing business with Iran's remaining airlines risks being cut off from the global financial system. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also suspended authorisations that previously allowed non-US airlines to operate routes to Iran or use US-made jets there, potentially complicating travel for Iranian Americans and denying Tehran overflight fees. Sanctioned individuals and entities will have their US assets frozen and be denied access to the US-dominated global banking system.
Bessent indicated that Iran faces a choice between complete global isolation or a path back to normalcy. He described the sanctions effort as a "zero leakage approach" to identify and stop Iran's smuggling and sanctions evasion, noting that President Donald Trump has made calls to global counterparts requesting they cease interactions with the regime.