Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumWith Argentina's help, U.S. seizes Boeing 747 used by Iran's military
Source: United Press International
U.S. NEWS FEB. 12, 2024 / 2:02 PM
With Argentina's help, U.S. seizes Boeing 747 used by Iran's military
By Clyde Hughes
Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The Justice Department said on Monday it has taken custody of a Boeing 747 cargo plane used by Mahan Air to transport supplies and fighters for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp-Qods Force.
The department said Argentina transferred the plane to the United States on Sunday, completing forfeiture actions. Mahan Air is sanctioned by the Treasury Department while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods is listed as a terrorist organization.
"The seized American-built aircraft was transferred by a sanctioned Iranian airline in a transaction that violated U.S. export control laws and directly benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a designated terrorist organization," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said in a statement.
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Read more: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/02/12/seized-airplane-Iran-Islamic-Revolutionary-Guard/5911707762448/
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Related: US says its taken possession of a Boeing 747 that Iran sold to a Venezuelan firm (Associated Press)
Chainfire
(17,542 posts)Eugene
(61,899 posts)Source: Associated Press
US says its taken possession of a Boeing 747 that Iran sold to a Venezuelan firm
BY ERIC TUCKER
Updated 2:50 PM EST, February 12, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. government has seized a Boeing 747 cargo plane that officials say was previously sold by a sanctioned Iranian airline to a state-owned Venezuelan firm in violation of American export control laws.
The Justice Department said Monday that the American-built plane had arrived in Florida and would be disposed of.
The plane had earlier been transferred from Iranian airline Mahan Air which officials have alleged provides support for Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force to Emtrasur, a Venezuelan cargo airline and subsidiary of a state-owned firm that had previously been sanctioned by the United States. Officials said the sale, done without U.S. government authorization, violated export control laws and also improperly benefited Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Mahan Air has for years been subject to U.S. government sanctions.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/argentina-venezuela-iran-justice-department-boeing-e2066c62c48654a2aace58d23baafa22
Eugene
(61,899 posts)Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Former Iranian-Owned Boeing Aircraft Successfully Returned to the United States
Monday, February 12, 2024
For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
The Department of Justice today completed enforcement of a final order for forfeiture of a U.S.-manufactured Boeing 747 cargo plane, previously owned by Mahan Air, a sanctioned Iranian airline affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
On Feb. 11, the government of Argentina transferred physical custody of the aircraft to the United States pursuant to the final order of forfeiture, which was issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 3, 2023, which rests all right, title, and interest in the aircraft in the United States of America. The Boeing 747 cargo plane arrived in the Southern District of Florida where it will be prepared for disposition.
The seized American-built aircraft was transferred by a sanctioned Iranian airline in a transaction that violated U.S. export control laws and directly benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a designated terrorist organization, said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Departments National Security Division. The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that the full force of U.S. laws deny hostile state actors the means to engage in malign activities that threaten our national security.
Mahan Air known to ferry weapons and fighters for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hizballah violated our export restrictions by selling this airplane to a Venezuelan cargo airline. Now, its property of the United States government, said Assistant Secretary of Export Enforcements Matthew S. Axelrod. This seized airplanes arrival in the United States is a powerful example of our unceasing efforts to prevent Iran and its proxies from leveraging and profiting from U.S. technology.
The United States forfeiture of the Boeing 747 cargo plane culminates over 18 months of planning, coordination, and execution by the United States government and our Argentine counterparts, said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. Bad actors both near and far are on alert that the United States will use all its tools to hold those who violate our laws to account. The successful seizure of the Boeing 747 underscores our commitment to prevent the illegal exportation of U.S. technologies and enforce U.S. export control laws.
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The plane was previously detained by Argentine law enforcement. On July 19, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a seizure warrant for the aircraft, which Argentine authorities promptly enforced. On Oct. 20, 2022, in support of its ongoing criminal investigation, the United States filed a civil forfeiture complaint alleging that the aircrafts transfer from Mahan Air to Empresa de Transporte Aéreocargo del Sur, S.A. (EMTRASUR), a Venezuelan cargo airline and subsidiary of Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos, S.A (CONVIASA), a Venezuelan state-owned company, violated U.S. export control laws. As alleged, Mahan Air was subject to a Department of Commerce Temporary Denial Order, which prohibited, among other things, Mahan Air from engaging in any transactions involving any commodity exported from the United States that is subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The complaint further alleged that the unauthorized transfer of this aircraft directly benefited the IRGC-QF.
According to court documents, the registered captain of the aircraft was an ex-commander for the IRGC and a shareholder and member of the board of a second sanctioned Iranian airline, Qeshm Fars Air, affiliated with the IRGC-QF. Argentinian law enforcement also recovered a Mahan Air flight log documenting the aircrafts flights after the unlawful transfer to EMTRASUR and confirmed additional violations of U.S. export control laws between February and May 2022 when EMTRASUR reexported the aircraft between Caracas, Venezuela; Tehran, Iran; and Moscow, Russia, without U.S. Government authorization.
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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-iranian-owned-boeing-aircraft-successfully-returned-united-states