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Thursday, April 25, 2024 11:25 GMT
The US Treasury Department sanctioned a Chinese company it alleged has acted as an agent for an Iranian airline accused of transporting weapons and other material for the country’s military and militant groups. Treasury said Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited acts as Mahan Air’s agent in the Chinese city, providing administration services for the Iranian company. It’s the seventh company Treasury has sanctioned as an agent of Mahan Air, the department said in a statement.Tuesday’s action freezes any US-held assets of Shanghai Saint Logistics and generally bars Americans from doing business with the company. “This designation serves as another reminder that companies still providing services for Mahan Air – in the PRC or anywhere else – risk potential US sanctions,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.“The Iranian regime is using Mahan Air to support an illegitimate and corrupt regime in Venezuela,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.The United States and dozens of other nations recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president last year. But Maduro remains in power, backed by Venezuela’s military as well as Russia, China, Cuba and Iran. The United States also maintains punishing sanctions on Iran aimed at containing its regional power in the Middle East, measures that were re-imposed after US President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Tehran.A senior US official told Reuters last week that the administration is considering measures it could take in response to Iran’s shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela. Mahan Air is currently operating charter flights between Iran and Venezuela, according to Treasury, helping to prop up the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by supplying Iranian technicians and equipment for its oil industry in exchange for gold bars, the department said. - Bloomberg, Reuters