Iran’s Mahan Airline, which is under U.S. sanctions for allegedly providing services for the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards in transporting weapons and fighters into Syria, has according to American federal investigators “repeatedly bought U.S.-made jet engines and parts, through Turkish front companies, over the past several years.” The investigators revealed that the shell companies bought the equipment from the United States suppliers as recently as December for the Iranian airline, successfully circumventing the sanctions. Mahan Air did not respond to a request for comment.
The revelation comes as Washington faces a decision on whether to grant the American aerospace company ‘Boeing’ licenses to sell scores of new planes to another airline belonging to the Islamic republic called ‘Iran Air’. The deal, which is estimated at about 40 billion dollars, has been signed between Iran Air and Boeing after sanctions eased as part of the 2015 nuclear agreement. Nevertheless, licenses must be granted by the Trump Administration as part of American laws and regulations.