Research Memo Should Boeing and Airbus sell planes to Iran Air? Iran Air and Mahan Air still ferrying militants and weapons to support Syria’s Bashar al-Assad At least 404 flights from Iran to Syria since the JCPOA commenced By Emanuele Ottolenghi January 17, 2017 In January 2016, Airbus inked a deal to sell 118 planes to Iran Air, the Islamic Republic’s flag carrier, and in June of that year, Boeing announced it had reached a deal for the sale of 100 aircraft as well. In September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued initial export licenses for both companies to deliver the jetliners. In November, Airbus received the official export license and just this week delivered its first plane to Iran Air. Treasury designated Iran Air on June 23, 2011 for “providing material support and services to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).” MODAFL is itself designated under Executive Order 13382 for its proliferation activities. Treasury also stated that “commercial Iran Air flights have been used to transport missile or rocket components to Syria.”1 “Iran Air has shipped military-related equipment on behalf of the IRGC since 2006,” the Treasury statement said, adding, that it has “shipped aircraft-related raw materials to a MODAFL-associated company, including titanium sheets, which have dual-use military applications and can be used in support of advanced weapons programs.” It also stated that “rockets or missiles have been transported via Iran Air passenger aircraft, and IRGC officers occasionally take control over Iran Air flights carrying special IRGC-related cargo. The IRGC is also known to disguise and manifest such shipments as medicine and generic spare parts, and IRGC officers have discouraged Iran Air pilots from inspecting potentially dangerous IRGC-related cargo being carried aboard a commercial Iran Air aircraft, including to Syria.”2 The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has tracked flights on Iran’s resupply route to the Syrian regime,3 and has written extensively about the risks of selling additional planes to Iran.4 1. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release, “Fact Sheet: Treasury Sanctions Major Iranian Commercial Entities,” June 23, 2011. (https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1217.aspx) 2. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release, “Fact Sheet: Treasury Sanctions Major Iranian Commercial Entities,” June 23, 2011. (https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1217.aspx) 3. @eottolenghi, Twitter, accessed January 13, 2017. (https://twitter.com/eottolenghi/media) 4. Emanuele Ottolenghi, “The Iran-Boeing Deal: Rewards and Risks,”Foundation for Defense of Democracies, June 17, 2016. (http://www. defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/emanuele-ottolenghi-the-iran-boeing-deal-rewards-and-risks/) Should Boeing and Airbus sell planes to Iran Air? 1 As the chart below shows, Iran Air has not ceased its illicit activities. It continues to ply the resupply route to Syria, ferrying weapons and militants to the Assad regime, a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism5 that has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the nearly six years of the Syrian civil war. Since the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal a year ago, Mahan Air has operated at least 185 flights to Syria, and Iran Air has flown 93. Mahan Air is designated by Treasury for “providing financial, material and technological support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.”6 Iran Air, however, was removed from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on January 16, 2016 as part of the nuclear deal.7 At the time, State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “I’m not at liberty to go into the reasons behind the fact that it was removed from the SDN list.”8 The airline was designated in 2011 under a non- proliferation Executive Order (13382), but as the evidence shows, its de-listing last year was not a consequence of a change in its behavior. It should now be designated for its continued terrorism activities. Over the past year, Cham Wings Airlines, a Syrian-based airline, has been steadily increasing its flights from Tehran to Damascus. In 2015, Treasury designated its chairman Issam Shammout and his other airline Sky Blue Bird Aviation for procuring aircrafts and parts for Mahan Air.9 Cham Wings Airlines has been listed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List since 2011 and was designated by Treasury on December 23, 2016, under Executive Order 13582 for its material, financial, and technological support to the government of Syria and its U.S.-sanctioned Syrian Arab Airlines.10 Iran Air has a fleet of about 36 planes, though it is not clear whether it will decommission these aircraft. The airline could, for example, use its existing planes for illicit activities while the new ones will be used for commercial routes. This raises questions about what Iran Air will do with its current fleet, and – with no clear need for three times the number of its current fleet – with the Boeing and Airbus planes if the deals move forward. Will Iran Air sell, lease, or otherwise provide the excess planes to the other Iranian airlines? Like Mahan Air, the two other Iranian airlines (Yas Air, a.k.a. Pouya Air, and Aban Air) remain designated by the U.S. government for illicit activity. Beyond the new aircraft, there are other troubling issue with these deals. Annex 2 of the JCPOA specifies that “the United States commits to allow for the sale of commercial passenger aircraft and related parts and services to Iran … provided that licensed items and services are used exclusively for commercial passenger aviation.”11 This will provide support not only for the planes in the deal, but also for Iran’s current aircraft as well. If Iran is committed to continuing to use its existing planes for illicit activities, this provision will prolong their shelf life considerably. 5. U.S. Department of State, “State Sponsors of Terrorism,” accessed January 13, 2017. (https://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm) 6. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release, “Treasury Designates Iranian Commercial Airline Linked to Iran’s Support for Terrorism,” October 12, 2011. (https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1322.aspx) 7. U.S. Department of the Treasury, “JCPOA-related Designation Removals, JCPOA Designation Updates, Foreign Sanctions Evaders Removals, NS-ISA List Removals; 13599 List Changes,” January 16, 2016. (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC- Enforcement/Pages/updated_names.aspx) 8. Pete Kasperowicz, “State Dept.: Trust us on Iran-Boeing deal,” The Washington Examiner, June 23, 2016. (http://www.washingtonexaminer. com/state-dept.-trust-us-on-iran-boeing-deal/article/2594767) 9. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release, “Treasury Department Targets Those Involved in Iranian Scheme to Purchase Airplanes,” May 21, 2015. (https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl10061.aspx) 10. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release, “Treasury Sanctions Additional Individuals and Entities in Response to Continuing Violence in Syria,” December 23, 2016. (https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0690.aspx) 11. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Vienna, July 14, 2015, Annex II – Sanctions-related commitments. (https://www.state.gov/ documents/organization/245320.pdf) 2 FDD’s Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance The Treasury Department designated Pouya Air in August 2014 for “acting for or on behalf of the IRGC-QF.”12 Specifically, it was found to be “transporting illicit cargo, including weapons, to Iran’s clients in the Levant.” Pouya Air remains designated as of January 2017.13 Using a publically available real-time flight tracking service, the chart below records at least 404 flights from Iran to Syria by Iran Air, Mahan Air, Pouya Air, Cham Wings, and the Iranian Air Force from July 14, 2015 – when the JCPOA commenced – to December 16, 2016. This chart does not include all flights, as Iran Air uses deceptive practices such as turning off its tracking signals and concealing routes. Other flights were simply not tracked. Summary of data • In total, Iran Air, Mahan Air, Pouya Air, Cham Wings Airlines, and the Iranian Air Force operated at least 404 flights from Iran to Syria since the Iran nuclear deal was adopted on July 14, 2015. At least 103 of these were Iran Air flights. • Since January 16, 2016, JCPOA Implementation Day, Mahan Air has flown at least 185 flights from Iran to Syria, and Iran Air operated 93 flights from Iran to Syria. • Since the JCPOA was announced, at least 211 flights were flown from Tehran to Damascus. Of these, 194 have occurred since Implementation Day. • Since the JCPOA was announced, there have been at least two flights from Tehran to the Syrian regime’s coastal stronghold of Latakia, which also hosts a Russian air base. • Since the JCPOA was announced, at least 99 flights were flown from Abadan, Iran, which serves as a logistical hub for the Revolutionary Guard’s airlifts to Syria. Of these, 58 have occurred since Implementation Day. • Since the JCPOA was announced, at least two flights were flown from Yazd, Iran to Damascus or elsewhere in Syria, as well as one from Tabriz and three from Kermanshah. Airline (flight number) Flight registration Departure Destination Date Mahan Air (W5142) EP-MNF Tehran Syria 15-Dec-16 Iran Air (IR697) EP-IBC Tehran Damascus 15-Dec-16 Iran Air (IR697) EP-IBL Tehran Damascus 13-Dec-16 Mahan Air (W5142) EP-MNO Tehran Syria 13-Dec-16 Cham Wings Airlines (6Q562) YK-BAB Tehran Damascus 13-Dec-16 Mahan Air (W5146) EP-MMJ Iran Syria 12-Dec-16 Mahan Air (W5142) EP-MNF Tehran Syria 11-Dec-16 Cham Wings Airlines (6Q562) YK-BAB Tehran Damascus 11-Dec-16 Iran Air (IR697) Tehran Damascus 8-Dec-16 12.