The US Department of Commerce (DOC), through the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), has announced sanctions against five entities for attempting to aide Iranian carrier Mahan Air (W5, Tehran Mehrabad) to acquire at least two US-based Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) aircraft.

In a statement, the BIS said it had added Bahar Safwa General Trading, Iraq's Al-Naser Airlines (Baghdad) and its shareholder Ali Abdullah Alhay to an existing Temporary Denial Order (TDO) thereby denying them not only the right to export goods from the United States, but also the right to receive or participate in exports and re-exports from the United States.

"Al Naser Airlines, based in Iraq, sought to acquire, for Mahan Air, at least two Airbus (A320) aircraft that were located in the United States. Ali Abdullah Alhay, a twenty-five percent owner of Al Naser Airlines who was acting on its behalf, signed a Letter of Intent for the aircraft as well as subsequent Sales Agreements," the BIS said. "Payments were wired from the account of Bahar Safwa General Trading of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, an entity suspected of acting as a front company for Mahan."

The BIS says agents from its Office of Export Enforcement detained the two aircraft prior to their departure from the United States.

In addition, Al Naser Airlines and Ras al Khaimah-based Sky Blue Bird Aviation and its owner Syrian businessman Issam Shammout have been labelled a counter-terrorism authority for providing support to Iran's Mahan Air.

Earlier this month, Mahan Air announced it had successfully acquired seven A340-600s, one A340-300, and one A321-200 all of which arrived through its Al Naser Airlines conduit.

Washington maintains sanctions against Mahan Air for its repeat attempts to evade US export law. Additionally, in October 2011, the US Department of the Treasury named the carrier a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for providing financial, material and technological support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.