News / Foreign Policy

US sanctions Chinese logistics firm over business with Iran’s Mahan Air

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 5:59 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 19 May 2020 5:59 PM ]

An Airbus A340-600 airplane of Mahan Air is seen at Simon Bolivar International Airport outside Caracas, Venezuela April 8, 2019.(Reuters photo)

The United States has imposed sanctions on a China-based company saying it acted on behalf of Iran’s Mahan Air, which has been sanctioned by Washington.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday that Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited acted as a general sales agent for Mahan Air, Reuters reported.

The Treasury action froze any US-held assets of Shanghai Saint Logistics and declared unlawful for Americans of doing business with the company.

“This designation serves as another reminder that companies still providing services for Mahan Air – in the PRC (People’s Republic of China) or anywhere else – risk potential US sanctions,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

The Treasury also said Mahan Air was operating charter flights to Venezuela transporting Iranian technicians and technical equipment, and supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and getting paid in gold bars from the Central Bank of Venezuela.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the Iranian government is using Mahan Air to support Venezuela’s “illegitimate regime,” referring to the elected government of President Maduro.

The United States and some of its allies recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president last year.

The US government imposed sanctions on Mahan Air in 2011. The airline, established in 1992 as Iran’s first private airline, has the country’s largest fleet of aircraft and has flights to many countries around the world.

The Trump administration reinstated US sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other countries.

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