A senior Israeli official criticized the United States for allowing Iran’s reported purchase of civilian aircraft, a breach in the sanctions on the country.
Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoondi said on May 11 that Tehran bought 15 used commercial planes from undisclosed sources in the past three months, Reuters reported. The sanctions on Iran restrict sales of planes.
“Israel learned from intelligence sources about this very significant breach of the sanctions in advance of it occurring,” the anonymous Israeli official told Reuters on Tuesday. “We flagged the issue to the US administration. … Unfortunately, the deal still went through and there was no success in preventing it.”
In response, a US State Department told Reuters that “if there is sanctionable activity, we will take action.”
Iranian state news agencies reported earlier this month that Iran’s Mahan Air — an airline blacklisted by the US — purchased nine Airbus aircraft. The seller was not identified.
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