US issues sanctions targeting support networks for Iran's Mahan Air

WASHINGTON, July 30 - The United States on Thursday issued new sanctions on Thursday targeting global networks supporting Mahan Air, the Iranian carrier Washington says transports Iran's Revolutionary Guards personnel, as well as weapons and drones.

The U.S. Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia and Iran, including several companies that act as sales agents for the U.S.- and E.U.-sanctioned airline, the department said in a statement.

The move comes as a drone strike on gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta signalled a potential new front in the U.S.-Iran war, raising the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal, one of the last remaining export routes for Saudi oil.

Treasury said it was also sanctioning a front company associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that has supported Iran's "kinetic targeting" during the war.

Thursday's action "further disrupts the network underpinning Iran’s destabilizing activities across the region," Treasury said. REUTERS