US sanctions Indian firm over Iran links
The US has sanctioned a Delhi-based company that represents Iran’s Mahan Air in India, along with entities in Russia and China that do business with the privately owned carrier.
“India-based Skiez Travels and Logistics Private Limited… and Russia-based Air Cargo Pro Limited… serve as general sales agents for Mahan Air in India and Russia, respectively,” the Treasury Department said in a statement on its website.
“Those who provide financial services, logistics, or commercial support to the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] or Mahan Air are helping sustain a terrorist enterprise,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Mahan Air is itself under US and European Union sanctions.
The US Treasury claimed that although Mahan Air presents itself as a civilian carrier, it has played a central role in enabling the IRGC by providing “travel services for IRGC‑Qods Force personnel, facilitating military training, and supporting Iran’s procurement and transport of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems and weapons.”
Skiez has represented Mahan Air in India from 2020, according to its website. General sales agents are official representatives for an airline in a country where it doesn’t have a local office, and manage ticket and cargo sales, as well as customer support.
The other entities sanctioned are Chinese-based Shanghai Wings International Logistics Co, which serves as a general sales agent for Mahan Air in China, the Shanghai Elite International Travel Co, which represents Mahan Air in China, and its executive director, Tang Xin. DadeNegar Startup Studio, which the Treasury described as a “front company affiliated with Iran’s IRGC,” has also been targeted.
The US and Iran have exchanged several rounds of attacks in the latest escalation of hostilities. The conflict was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran, and has led to the near-complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of the world’s energy used to pass.
Dozens of Indian companies and individuals were targeted by the US in earlier sanctions rounds.
