TBILISI, September 10 – Georgia says it will enforce newly expanded U.S. sanctions that affect airlines currently operating flights between Georgia and Iran.
The announcement came Thursday after the United States expanded sanctions against Iran’s aviation sector, including measures targeting companies that continue to support Mahan Air and 27 other Iranian airlines. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned companies doing business with sanctioned Iranian carriers that they risk being cut off from the global financial system.
The U.S. measures also target firms in third countries that Washington says help Mahan Air continue operating.
Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency responded later Thursday, stating that the expanded U.S. sanctions list includes airlines that currently operate between Georgia and Iran.
According to Interpressnews, the agency said Georgia would act in full compliance with the sanctions regime. It added that the country takes into account sanctions imposed by both the United States and the European Union when regulating access to its aviation market.
According to the aviation agency, Georgia has for years used sanctions lists maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, including the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list, as an additional monitoring mechanism for foreign airlines.
The agency said Georgia had previously restricted the operations of several airlines under the same system. It did not identify in its statement which carriers currently flying between Georgia and Iran are affected by the newly expanded U.S. measures, or specify when any restrictions on their flights would take effect.
The Civil Aviation Agency said Georgia would continue following international sanctions requirements in the aviation sector.
