Turkey to halt Iranian Mahan Air flights over US sanctions risk

Turkey will suspend flights by the privately owned Iranian carrier Mahan Air after the US Treasury sanctioned Turkish ground-services companies earlier this month for supporting the airline, Turkish officials told Middle East Eye.

The officials said on Friday that the ban will take effect on 21 September and will affect all flights by the carrier to and from Iran.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control had announced a comprehensive sanctions package earlier this month targeting Iranian civilian airlines, ground services providers, cargo companies and aircraft parts suppliers.

The sanctions provided a brief grace period for companies to end their dealings with the targeted Iranian firms. They also threatened punitive action against third-country service providers.

Three Turkish companies, S Sistem, Mes Cargo and Sky Phoenix, were sanctioned for providing services to Mahan Air, including supplying aircraft components, offering general sales services and purchasing aircraft.

One official told MEE that the designation of the three Turkey-based companies over their ties to Mahan Air demonstrated that the risk was directly affecting the airline's service chain in Turkey.

"The risk now extends to every Turkish entity providing services to Mahan Air, from airport operations and ground handling to ticketing and banking. This could disrupt services and trigger further investigations," the official said.

Other Turkish officials told MEE that the decision did not amount to a general ban on Iranian carriers.

However, they said Ankara would continue assessing the risks associated with other airlines, taking into account its bilateral aviation agreement with Tehran, flight safety and possible additional US sanctions that could expose Turkish companies to further penalties.

Mahan Air operated frequent flights to Turkey, including at least three flights a day between Istanbul and Tehran.