WASHINGTON: The United States Thursday blacklisted a major Iranian port operator and the country's national airline, IranAir to increase pressure on Tehran to curtail its alleged nuclear weapons program. The sanctions target two key segments of Iran's transport infrastructure that the US Treasury said were being used to aid the country's efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction. Washington's latest actions prohibit US entities from any transactions with Tidewater Middle East Co., which operates seven port facilities in Iran, and IranAir, which serves 35 international and 25 domestic destinations with a fleet of about 40 aircraft. The Treasury's designation of the firms as weapons proliferators also aims to freeze any assets they may have under US jurisdiction. The sanctions on IranAir could increase difficulties in the airline's operations that started last year when airports in many Western countries stopped refueling IranAir planes because of US sanctions prohibiting the export of refined petroleum products to Iran. A senior US Treasury official acknowledged the action could reduce flight options for Iran's population. The new sanctions “may have an impact on Iranian people (but) the Iranian people are not the target of these actions,” the official told reporters. Instead, the Treasury is trying to ratchet up pressure on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that US officials say is assuming control of greater parts of Iran's economy as sanctions hamper private firms. Iran rejects charges by Western powers it is engaged in military-linked nuclear work. Treasury said IranAir and its IranAir Tours subsidiary were put on the sanctions list because its passenger aircraft have on numerous occasions transported military related electronic parts on behalf of Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics organization. The shipments have also included missiles, rockets and titanium sheets, a dual-use material that can be used in advanced weapons systems, the Treasury said.
