Urging members of the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization to refuse airport access to Iranian airlines sanctioned by the United States, to encourage these members to apply sanctions against such airlines, and for other purposes.

Whereas Iranian airlines Mahan Air, Iran Air, Saha Airlines, and Qeshm Air are all sanctioned by the United States for their complicity in Iran’s status as the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world; Whereas, on September 19, 2022, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) identified three cargo aircraft operated by Mahan Air, Iran Air, and Qeshm Fars Air in violation of General Prohibition 10 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for transporting Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia; Whereas Mahan Air has been on the Denied Persons List since March 2008, and a separate BIS-issued Temporary Denial Order (TDO) remains in effect; Whereas Iran has supplied Russia with Mohajer-6 and Shahed variant UAVs, including Shahed-136 UAV loitering munitions, which have been used to destroy United States equipment and attack Ukrainians; Whereas a Ukrainian official claimed that planned terrorist acts against Israeli citizens are one of the conditions for the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia Whereas, on September 27, 2022, Russian military forces fired at least ten Iranian Shahad-136 model drones over the Ukrainian city of Uman, where tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, including from Israel, make the pilgrimage each year for Rosh Hashanah; Whereas international flights on Mahan Air, Iran Air, and Qeshm Air originating from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport have landed in London, Paris, Barcelona, Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Milan, Rome, Rimini, Belgrade, Munich, Vienna, Gothenborg, Moscow, Varna, Istanbul, Izmir, Bodrum, Denizli, Ankara, Batumi, Tbilisi, Baku, Yerevan, and other locations across Eurasia; Whereas airports that allow permit access and usage by these sanctioned airlines are possibly supporting companies proliferating Iranian weaponry to Russia for the purpose of attacking Ukraine; Whereas airports that allow usage for these sanctioned airlines are endangering stakeholders by risking the introduction of prohibited materials used in warfare or terrorist attacks to enter their facilities; and Whereas Mahan Air, Iran Air, and Qeshm Air were used by Iran to transport weapons and fighters to prop up the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad at the height of the regime’s repression; Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) advises members of the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to consider the risks of doing business with companies that facilitate Iran’s global sponsorship of terrorism; (2) reminds airports across the international community of sanctions imposed by the United States against Mahan Air, Iran Air, Saha Airlines, and Qeshm Air, which could be applied to individuals or entities that provide material support to sanctioned entities; (3) thanks the Council of the EU for Implementing Regulation 2023/2196 concerning restrictive measures against Iran, including Qeshm Air; (4) urges the Council of the EU, member governments of the EU and member states of NATO to deny airport access and apply sanctions with respect to Mahan Air, Iran Air, Saha Airlines, and Qeshm Fars Air; and (5) requests the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury to conduct outreach to EU member governments and airports within EU member states with informational briefings on the dangers of doing business with such sanctioned airlines.

Summary: This resolution urges members of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to deny airport access and apply sanctions to certain Iranian airlines that are currently sanctioned by the United States. The resolution also advises EU and NATO members to consider the risks of doing business with companies that facilitate Iran's global sponsorship of terrorism and reminds airports worldwide that sanctions applied against Iranian airlines could be applied to individuals or entities that provide material support to those airlines.