The State Secretariat unveiled sanctions against the largest airline in the Islamic Republic as well as against the country's largest shipping corporation • Reason: Support for the missile program
Airplane of the Mahan Air Company // Photo: Reuters
Washington announced on Wednesday its intention to impose a new set of sanctions against Iran's economy, following the continued development of the country's ballistic missile program.
The new sanctions are aimed at the country's largest airline, Mahan Air and the country's largest shipping company. The companies have already been hit by previous American sanctions, but now the sanctions are specifically aimed at hurting these companies.
During the unveiling of the new sanctions, the United States claimed that the Iranian National Shipping Company had forged documents and used cheating methods to disguise shipments related to the Iranian ballistic missile program.
It is also alleged that the shipping company made use of a company registered in Shanghai, China, with a view to assisting the Iranian aerospace industry and the Iranian firm producing solid missile fuel.
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Mahan Air's name was previously linked to terrorist shipments and weapons to Syria, after Arabic media outlets posted pictures of members of the Quds Force drone unit in Syria flying on the company's aircraft, not long before being assassinated by an air force attack in Syria.
Christopher Ford, a senior US secretary of state and responsible for international security and the prevention of weapons of mass destruction, told the Financial Times that the new sanctions are "very significant" and the reason for their announcement is a growing concern among Gulf states over the Iranian missile program.
"Thanks to the sanctions, our ability to work with our international partners overseas to prevent Iran from being able to transport certain ports or prevent transactions that allow international weapons development is far more compelling at the diplomatic level," Ford said.
"Arab alliance against Iran"
Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz al Saud opened Tuesday the summit of Arab Gulf leaders in a call for a regional alliance to counter Iran's threats and secure the energy market in the region.
The Saudi king said, in a speech broadcast in the Gulf media, that "our region today is experiencing circumstances and challenges that require concentrated effort to deal with, while the Iranian regime continues aggressive and threatening the security and stability of the region."
Saudi King Salman Abdel Aziz // Photo: Reuters
The King called on the international community to intervene and prevent the further construction of the Iranian ballistic missile program, which, by hand and King, threatens the security and economy of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
Saudi Arabia has witnessed Iran's continuing military buildup this year as a series of Iranian cruise missiles and drones has hit Saudi oil industry in the north, causing massive damage to Riyadh's economy.