The U.S. military confirmed to the Associated Press on Thursday that American fighter jets intercepted an Iranian commercial flight over Syria, calling it a “standard visual inspection,” after Tehran complained that the incident amounted to “terrorism.”
The state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) network claimed on Thursday afternoon that fighter jets had harassed a Mahar Air commercial flight over Syria. Various state-run Iranian and Syrian outlets disputed if the identity of the fighter jets was Israeli or American.
Iran’s second largest airline Mahan Air began offering direct flights to Venezuela on Monday. Mahan Air is under U.S. sanctions for ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), designated a foreign terrorist organization this week.
France on Monday banned flights by Iranian airline Mahan Air, on the grounds that Mahan is employed by the Iranian regime to send troops and weapons to hotspots across the Middle East, including Syria. The move is a significant step toward European acceptance of the Trump administration’s argument that Iran is a major threat to stability in the Middle East.
The operating permit for Iran’s Mahan Air to fly in and out of Germany was cancelled on Monday, with German authorities accusing the airline of being involved in illegal espionage.
The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a Malaysia-based General Sales Agent (GSA) on Monday for collaborating with and acting on behalf of Iran’s government-operated and U.S.-sanctioned Mahan Air.