The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in the US Department of the Treasury has removed the following carriers from its list of "Specially Designated Nationals" (SDN) in the wake of the lifting of nuclear-related “secondary sanctions” against Iran last week. Effective Implementation Day (Saturday, January 16), non-US persons will no longer be subject to sanctions for conducting transactions with any of the below listed carriers which include:
- Aban Air (ABE, Tehran Mehrabad) (currently inactive);
- IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad);
- Iran Airtour Airlines (B9, Tehran Mehrabad);
- Iran Air Cargo;
- Bukovyna Airlines (BKV, Chernivtsi) (from Ukraine; primarily wet-leasing aircraft to Iranian carriers)
In the wake of last week's announcement, Iranian Minister of Transport Abbas Akhoundi said Iran Air was gearing up to acquire 114 Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) jets including eight A380-800s for delivery from 2019 onwards and up to sixteen A350 Family jets. The bulk of the order is said to involve A320 Family, A330 Family, and A340 Family aircraft, including used jets. The carrier is also said to be looking at forty ATR42/72 turboprops from ATR - Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac). A formal announcement is expected during President Rouhani's visit to France this week. Kish Air (KIS, Tehran Mehrabad) is also planning to acquire six A321 jets while Iran Aseman Airlines (EP, Tehran Mehrabad) has voiced an interest in six A320s and six B737s to be added this year according to CAPA. Qeshm Airlines (QB, Tehran Mehrabad) is considering three A320s and one A330 to bolster its fleet.
But despite the relative relief to Iran's aviation industry, the following Iranian (and foreign) carriers are, however, still subject to restrictive measures owing to their alleged support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) as well as various other groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria:
- Meraj Air (MRJ, Tehran Mehrabad)
- Caspian Airlines (CPN, Tehran Mehrabad)
- Yas Air (MHD, Tehran Mehrabad);
- Pouya Air Lines (PYA, Tehran Mehrabad);
- Mahan Air (W5, Tehran Mehrabad);
- UM Air (Kyiv Boryspil) (Ukraine, but related to Iran);
The Treasury has clarified that despite the lifting of secondary sanctions, primary sanctions i.e. the US domestic trade embargo on Iran, remain in place. As it stands, even after Implementation Day, with limited exceptions, US citizens and firms are still broadly prohibited from engaging in transactions or dealings with Iran or its government.
