U.S. Sanctions Six Entities Backing Iran's Mahan Air
SkimNews Take
Targeting ticket agents and logistics firms across India, China, and Russia exposes how Mahan Air's commercial network functions through distributed, multi-jurisdictional booking channels — making peripheral pressure harder to enforce than a single-state sanction.
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- U.S. Department of Treasury announced sanctions on July 30, 2026 against six entities and individuals operating as general sales agents of Mahan Air, accusing them of helping sustain the IRGC.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that those providing financial services, logistics, or commercial support to the IRGC or Mahan Air are 'helping sustain a terrorist enterprise' and will be cut off from the U.S. financial system.
- Skiez Travels and Logistics Private Limited, based in Srinagar and Delhi, became Mahan Air's general sales agent in 2020 and is the India-based entity targeted in this round.
- Mahan Air allegedly transported IRGC-Quds Force personnel, facilitated military training, and aided movement of unmanned aerial vehicle systems and weapons despite presenting itself as a civilian carrier, per the Treasury.
- China-based Shanghai Wings International Logistics Co and its managing director Tang Xin coordinated electronics transport from China to Iran and travel for Mahan Air; Tang Xin also owns 50% of co-sanctioned Shanghai Elite International Travel Co.
- Russia-based Air Cargo Pro Limited was also designated as a Mahan Air GSA alongside the Chinese firms.
- DadeNegar Startup Studio was sanctioned as an IRGC front company that solicited locations of American and Israeli equipment to support Iranian military targeting and received strike requests for U.S. targets in West Asia.
Why it matters: The designations hit a cross-border support network spanning India, China, and Russia, cutting designated firms off from the U.S. financial system — a tangible penalty for any entity still doing business with Mahan Air. For Skiez Travels specifically, operating in Srinagar and Delhi, this puts its airline-ticketing revenue stream directly at risk.
Ask SkimNews
