The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has ramped up sanctions against the Iranian aviation industry, designating Yazd Airways (DZD, Yazd) and its executives for allegedly assisting its parent Mahan Air, another airline proscribed by Washington. The US has also designated Gambian firm Macka Invest Company Limited, which acted as an intermediary for Mahan Air to procure aircraft from abroad.
In a November 20 update of the specially designated nationals list, OFAC alleged that Yazd Airways was assisting Mahan Air in ferrying officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) to Syria prior to the overthrow of former president Bashar Al-Assad. Those actions were allegedly supporting Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, and under the protection of the Russian military.
The US also designated the airline's managing director Reza Heidari and vice-chairman Reza Namakshenas.
Yazd Airways currently operates a single ARJ85, EP-DZH (msn E2383). Mahan Air used to provide maintenance support to the company but recently terminated the contract, which prompted Yazd to halt flight operations for around two weeks.
The US also tightened sanctions on Mahan Air itself by designating two officials allegedly central to the airline's operations in support of organisations deemed terrorist by Washington. They are flight operations manager Mohammad Mahdi Maghfoori and captain Mohammad Reza Moaref Jahromi. In addition, the US designated seven aircraft currently operated by Mahan Air, namely:
- ARJ85 EP-MEB (msn E2319);
- F50 EP-MEH (msn 20263);
- A340-200 EP-MJA (msn 75);
- A340-300s EP-MJE (msn 270), EP-MJF (msn 331), and EP-MJG (msn 474); and
- A340-600 EP-MMU (msn 933).
Finally, the new sanctions single out Gambia's Macka Invest Company Limited, an opaque company involved in the 2024 ferry of two A340-600s from Siauliai to Iran. One of the aircraft was EP-MMU, the newly designated A340. The two quadjets were registered under Gambian C5- signs before delivering to Iran.
