US increases pressure on Iran with sanctions targeting aviation sector

The US Treasury Department unveiled a package of 36 sanctions on Iran-related aviation entities, part of an initiative the administration calls "Operation Economic Outcast." The measures, announced Tuesday, target both commercial and private airlines based in Iran and firms that provide them with parts, logistics and other services. The new penalties broaden prior action against Mahan Air — a carrier already under sanctions since 2011 — and reach companies that have supported Iranian carriers with supplies and services. US officials have previously accused Mahan Air of assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and of transporting weapons and support to armed groups allied with Tehran in countries such as Lebanon and Yemen. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that entities aiding Iran risk being cut off from the global financial system. The steps come as the second Trump administration has pursued an intensified economic campaign against Tehran since the president returned to office in 2025. The announcement follows other recent measures described by the administration as akin to an "economic D-Day." The sanctions arrive amid a wider military confrontation: the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, which reached a six-month mark in August, and fighting has continued, including US strikes on Iranian tankers and Iranian attacks on US forces in Jordan. Washington said the sanctions also extend to foreign companies and countries that do business with the restricted entities, and that assets held under US jurisdiction can be frozen. The administration has accused firms in several countries, including Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, of supplying parts and logistics services to Iran-based aviation companies. The measures form part of a larger effort to sever economic lifelines that US officials say sustain Tehran, a campaign that has intersected with disputes over passage through the Strait of Hormuz and earlier disruptions that helped push up global fuel prices.