By Pishtaz | 2024-05-06

Iranian cargo airline Pouya Air has come under new US sanctions for facilitating the sale of military drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine.

The airline was first designated in March 2012 for transporting illicit cargo, including weapons, to Iran's proxies in the Middle East on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force (IRGC-QF).

The latest sanctions, announced on April 25, redesignate the airline for its transshipment of Iranian military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia.

Pouya Air's Ilyushin-76 aircraft EP-PUS has transported drones and drone-related cargo from Iran to Russia on behalf of the IRGC Aerospace Force, the US Treasury Department said.

"Iran's Ministry of Defense continues to destabilize the region and world with its support to Russia's war in Ukraine, unprecedented attack on Israel, and proliferation of UAVs and other dangerous military hardware to terrorist proxies," Treasury official Brian E. Nelson said in a statement.

"The United States, in close coordination with our British and Canadian partners, will continue to use all means available to combat those who would finance Iran's destabilizing activities."

Reports suggest Pouya Air is one of four airlines that Iran uses for its illicit activity.

The other three are Mahan Air, Iran Air, and Saha Airlines.

"The Iranian regime uses Mahan Air as a tool to spread its destabilizing agenda around the world, including to the corrupt regimes in Syria and Venezuela, as well as terrorist groups throughout the Middle East," the US Treasury said in 2020.

The latest sanctions target more than a dozen entities for the sale of Iranian drones for Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

MODAFL has worked with Russia to finance and produce Iranian-designed one-way attack drones at a US-sanctioned facility in Russia under a $1.75 billion contract, the Treasury said.

The Russian military has used such drones to attack critical infrastructure and civilian targets in Ukraine.

The United States earlier in April warned it would impose further sanctions on Iran following an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13.