US sanctions Chinese company for dealings with Iran’s Mahan Air

The US State Department blacklists a Chinese company over its business ties to Iran’s Mahan Air.

It says: “Today, the United States designated Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited, a PRC-based company that provides general sales agent services for the Specially Designated Global Terrorist Iranian airline. The United States designated Mahan Air in 2011 under a counterterrorism authority for providing material support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and again in 2019, under a weapons of mass destruction authority for shipping United Nations-restricted missile and nuclear items to Iran.

“More recently, the Iranian regime turned to Mahan Air to facilitate shipments to Venezuela to support the illegitimate former Maduro regime and its desperate attempts to boost energy production, which had fallen due to its own gross mismanagement. It is equally troubling that Mahan Air appears to be carrying gold from Venezuela’s vaults back to Iran, depriving the Venezuelan people of resources needed to rebuild their economy. As always, authoritarian regimes are more interested in their own survival than the needs of their people.

“The United States is pleased that over the last two years, governments and companies across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have wisely severed ties with Mahan Air. This designation serves as another reminder that companies still providing services for Mahan Air – in the PRC or anywhere else – risk potential US sanctions.”

China is one of the few countries that still welcomes Mahan Air, an airline used to ferry Iran’s arms and terrorists. Today’s designation of a China-based company exacts consequences for that decision. Anyone doing business with Mahan Air runs the risk of sanctions.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 19, 2020