US sanctions hit Iran-backed airlines, fighters in Syria

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States on Thursday targeted two Iran-backed foreign fighter militias in Syria and two airlines that help send weapons to Syria in fresh sanctions as Washington prepares for a military withdrawal from the war-torn country.

All four groups are linked to Iran's Mahan Air and Iran's elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, both of which are already blacklisted, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

The Fatemiyoun Division, comprising Afghan nationals, and Zaynabiyoun Brigade, consisting of Pakistanis, are being designated for providing material support to the IRGC-QF, the statement said. Their placement on the Treasury's financial blacklist aims to cut off their access to international financial networks to choke their operations.

Both militias are recruited by the Revolutionary Guard, the Treasury said, from communities of refugees and migrants living inside Iran, and sent to fight for the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.

"The brutal Iranian regime exploits refugee communities in Iran... and uses them as human shields for the Syrian conflict," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.

"Treasury's targeting of Iran-backed militias and other foreign proxies is part of our ongoing pressure campaign to shut down the illicit networks the regime uses to export terrorism and unrest across the globe," he said.

Since President Donald Trump announced that Washington will withdraw its roughly 2,000 troops in Syria, the administration has tried to allay concerns that Islamic State militants could stage a comeback in the region, or that Iran and Russia will benefit from the US departure.

The United States imposed sanctions on Mahan Air in 2011, saying it provided financial and other support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

The Treasury said Iran-based Qeshm Fars Air was designated for being owned or controlled by Mahan Air and for providing material support to the Quds Force. Armenia-based Flight Travel LLC acts for or on behalf of Mahan Air, which transports Iran-allied personnel and weapons to Syria, Treasury said.

Qeshm Fars was a dormant carrier until 2017, when it was revived to deliver passengers and cargo to Damascus from Iran with two B747 aircraft on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The carrier is being staffed by Mahan Air employees and receives Mahan technical support, the Treasury said.

Sigal Mandelker, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the Treasury is aggressively targeting groups that support Mahan air.

"Iran continues to leverage Mahan Air and its commercial aviation sector to transport individuals and weapons needed to carry out this tragic campaign and to fuel sectarian conflict throughout the region," she said in the statement.