link/source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian-ai ... suppliers/

"The U.S. has suspended the export privileges of a Turkish national and three related companies it says obtained American-made aircraft parts for Iranian airlines, violating U.S. sanctions. "

"According to the Commerce Department, Turkish national Gulnihal Yegane set up shell companies to purchase equipment from U.S. suppliers on behalf of Iran's Mahan Air. The carrier is under sanctions by the U.S. for allegedly carrying arms and fighters in Syria. The jet parts were obtained through the Turkish fronts in the past several years, most recently in December."

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone.
They're keeping those planes flying somehow...
And, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

What I dont get is America will supply Arms to Iran, but not let them do anything else. Its so weird and hypocritical.

Samrnpage wrote:

What I dont get is America will supply Arms to Iran, but not let them do anything else. Its so weird and hypocritical.

Exactly how does the US supply arms to Iran again? There's hypocrisy to be found here, but let's stick to facts.

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

gunsontheroof wrote:

Samrnpage wrote:

What I dont get is America will supply Arms to Iran, but not let them do anything else. Its so weird and hypocritical.

Are you referring to the air force? All of those aircraft are pre-revolution. The U.S. was Iran's main arms supplier for years, but anything since 1979 has been off the books, so to speak.

Don't forget Iran/Contra.

jordanh wrote:

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

Unless the airline is alleged to be a front for a designated foreign terrorist organization. Mahan Air is alleged to be controlled by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the US Department of State for its role in the Syrian conflict; many senior IRGC members also hold key management positions in Mahan Aitz That is why this is an issue specific to Mahan Air.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

jordanh wrote:

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

Unless the airline is alleged to be a front for a designated foreign terrorist organization. Mahan Air is alleged to be controlled by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the US Department of State for its role in the Syrian conflict. That is why this is an issue specific to Mahan Air.

Trump didn't designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. Instead he sanctioned some entities.

jordanh wrote:

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

It's the entire point of sanctions. It's how other governments put pressure on civilian populaces to get them to enact governmental change. I'm not saying it's a nice way to do things, it's just Realpolotik.

persiangulf93 wrote:

aemoreira1981 wrote:

jordanh wrote:

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

Unless the airline is alleged to be a front for a designated foreign terrorist organization. Mahan Air is alleged to be controlled by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the US Department of State for its role in the Syrian conflict. That is why this is an issue specific to Mahan Air.

Trump didn't designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. Instead he sanctioned some entities.

Which includes the IRGC, who basically run Mahan.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

persiangulf93 wrote:

aemoreira1981 wrote:

Unless the airline is alleged to be a front for a designated foreign terrorist organization. Mahan Air is alleged to be controlled by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the US Department of State for its role in the Syrian conflict. That is why this is an issue specific to Mahan Air.

Trump didn't designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. Instead he sanctioned some entities.

Which includes the IRGC, who basically run Mahan.

Mahan was already sanctioned way before Trump came in office...

So, if the IRGC controls Mahan.. Does it exist to make profit like any other airline? I mean it has flights to various cities outside of Iran, weirdly enough they even had flights to my old hometown of BHX (with some interesting / humorous stories I understand)
As far as progression goes, do they invest in keeping up with other airlines products like new interiors, better seats, etc... Very interested.

Lots of $$$ to shady middle men's pockets will always get round sanctions.

jordanh wrote:

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

Take off the blinders. Sanctions are supposed to hurt, and airlines are a great way to hit a country hard.

TWA772LR wrote:

gunsontheroof wrote:

Samrnpage wrote:

What I dont get is America will supply Arms to Iran, but not let them do anything else. Its so weird and hypocritical.

Are you referring to the air force? All of those aircraft are pre-revolution. The U.S. was Iran's main arms supplier for years, but anything since 1979 has been off the books, so to speak.

Don't forget Iran/Contra.

And Reagan as a candidate POTUS illegally hampered the sitting POTUS in doing his job.
GOP at its best.

jetblueguy22 wrote:

jordanh wrote:

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

Take off the blinders. Sanctions are supposed to hurt, and airlines are a great way to hit a country hard.

The blinders seem to be on the eyes of people who think sanctions are successful. The subject of this thread shows they are not.

jordanh wrote:

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

Yes, but its what they are using those aircraft for?

Spacepope wrote:

jordanh wrote:

AA737-823 wrote:

I don't know why this comes as a surprise to anyone. They're keeping those planes flying somehow... and, frankly, I'm not sure how this is any "worse" than Mahan and other Iranian airlines ending up with aircraft that came from Lufthansa. There may have been a middle man, I suppose, but in the end, if a country wants to buy a plane, they'll find a way, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

It is ludicrous and counter-productive for any government to disallow its manufacturers from selling parts to civilian airliners, regardless of what you think of the country in which that airline is based.

It's the entire point of sanctions. It's how other governments put pressure on civilian populaces to get them to enact governmental change. I'm not saying it's a nice way to do things, it's just Realpolotik.

Erm. No, in modern days sanctions have become more targeted towards entities that are actually drawing international ire and minimizing impact on civilians wherever possible. See russian sanctions.

Have you seen the militias in Iran? What exactly do you think regular civilians are supposed to do? It's not really a country where civilians will be able to make anything change fast.

The very, very weird thing about this is that an American company twice (they say, unwittingly) sold A340s to Syrian Airlines and Mahan Air (the second attempt was unsuccessful) through intermediaries in 2016.

And then in 2017 front companies in the UAE helped Mahan procure two further A340s from Athens. Not a single entity involved in these deals has faced any action whatsoever from the US gov't. Yet they swoop in on spare parts suppliers?

I can't provide a link because of the forum rules on self-promotion but you can Google some keywords to find the story.

Spacepope wrote:

It's the entire point of sanctions. It's how other governments put pressure on civilian populaces to get them to enact governmental change. I'm not saying it's a nice way to do things, it's just Realpolotik.

Realpolitik applies to things that aren't pretty but work. These sanctions aren't pretty and don't work. Just like the embargo on Cuba.