From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
US, Europe at odds over Revolutionary Guard-backed airline
A US Treasury official says Washington has been trying to get European countries to cooperate with its efforts to block the financial network of an Iranian airline backed by the country’s notorious Revolutionary Guard, but has met with stiff resistance.
Mahan Air, the country’s second-largest carrier, is used to ferry weapons and fighters to support Syria’s government. It has acquired rights to fly commercial routes in more than a dozen European and Asian countries in spite of US terror-related sanctions.
The US accuses the company of providing “transportation, funds transfers and personnel travel services” to the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Forces, flying them and weapons to Syria to train Hezbollah militants, Syrian army troops and others.
Many countries honored the US terror sanctions and blocked Mahan Air. But weeks before the nuclear deal was signed in July 2015, the airline announced it was launching a route to Munich — its second German destination. A wave of new routes to 15 countries followed, including France, Russia, China and Italy. France and Denmark were added in June 2016, and talks continue to add more routes in Europe.
Washington doesn’t want to restrict travel to and from Iran, the Treasury official says, noting that the country’s main carrier, Iran Air, can fly around the world since the nuclear deal was implemented in January.
A spokeswoman for the EU says Mahan Air is not under its sanctions and the US has no jurisdiction.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.