From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 22, 2024
US sanctions airline, Iraq militia leaders after Iran-backed attacks on troops
The United States announces sanctions on Iraqi low-cost airline Fly Baghdad, saying it provided assistance to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and proxies, while also targeting leaders of a pro-Iranian Iraq militia for sanctions.
The moves come as Iraq’s powerful pro-Iranian armed group Kataeb Hezbollah has “carried out a series of sharply escalating drone and missile attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria,” says the US Treasury Department in a statement.
Kataeb Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq “have consistently issued statements” supporting the Hamas terror group in Israel’s war against it, while declaring “their commitment to attacking US personnel,” the US Treasury says.
“Iran and its proxies have sought to abuse regional economies and use seemingly legitimate businesses as cover for funding and facilitating their attacks,” said Treasury Under Secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson.
In unveiling sanctions on Fly Baghdad and CEO Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani, the Treasury Department says the airline supported the Quds Force “by delivering material and personnel throughout the region” including weapons.
It added that since Hamas’s devastating attack on Israel on October 7, Fly Baghdad “was involved in the transfer of hundreds of Iraqi fighters” in support of Iranian proxies’ attacks on Israel.
The latest sanctions target a senior Kataeb Hezbollah member and drone specialist, alongside a company allegedly used to launder money and the individual managing it.
Property of designated individuals in the United States are blocked and must be reported. Financial institutions and others are also restricted in their transactions with sanctioned entities.
