Commerce renews one-year denial of export privileges for Mahan Airways network

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce has renewed the temporary denial order that bars Mahan Airways, Al Naser Airlines and a network of related companies and individuals from any US export privilege, this time for an extended period of one year. The order was signed on 22 October 2026 by David A. Peters, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, and is effective immediately. It is published in the Federal Register of 27 October 2026 (Vol. 91, No. 206, Notices, FR Doc. 2026–21840).

Twenty years of renewals, now extended

The denial order dates back to an ex parte order signed on 17 March 2008 and effective on 21 March 2008, when BIS found that Mahan Airways had knowingly re-exported three US-origin Boeing 747 aircraft to Iran without authorisation. It has been renewed continuously since then under Section 766.24 of the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR parts 730–774), most recently in an order issued on 27 October 2025.

The legal basis is Section 4820(a)(5) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801–4852). That provision allows renewal for periods of 180 days, and for up to one year when the record shows “a pattern of repeated, ongoing and/or continuous apparent violations”. BIS invoked that extended route here. Its Office of Export Enforcement filed the renewal request on 8 September 2026, more than 20 days before expiry, and no opposition was received.

Who is covered

The order names four respondents and a set of related persons, with addresses across the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iraq, France, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom:

• Mahan Airways (Tehran, Iran) and Al Naser Airlines (Baghdad, Iraq; Dubai; Amman, Jordan).
• Ali Abdullah Alhay and Bahar Safwa General Trading (Dubai).
• Pejman Mahmood Kosarayanifard, Mahmoud Amini, Sirjanco Trading LLC, Mahan Air General Trading LLC and Sky Blue Bird Group (Ras Al Khaimah).
• Kerman Aviation, also known as GIE Kerman Aviation (Paris, France), Mehdi Bahrami (Mahan’s Istanbul office) and Issam Shammout (Damascus, Beirut, London and Istanbul).

All of them, their successors, assigns, agents and employees are treated as “denied persons” and may not take part in any transaction involving items subject to the Export Administration Regulations.

The five Boeing 777s and the Summer 2026 attempt

The renewal record details how five Boeing 777–212ER aircraft were moved to Iran through front companies in several countries, stored at Lanzhou airport in China, flown to Cambodia, and temporarily registered in Madagascar before departing on 15 July 2025 with transponders switched off over Afghanistan. Three of them now carry Iranian registrations EP–MTE (MSN 33369), EP–MTB (MSN 28527) and EP–MTA (MSN 28522), and are flying on Mahan routes to and from Moscow, Beijing and Muscat.

BIS also reports efforts in the summer of 2026 to obtain three additional Boeing 777 aircraft via the UAE and Oman, with intermediaries acting as general service agents for Mahan. The order notes parallel designations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on 30 July 2026 (entities in China, India and Russia) and on 8 September 2026 (entities in the UAE, Turkey and Malaysia) under “Operation Economic Outcast”.

What the order prohibits

Beyond the blanket ban, the renewed order forbids any person from, directly or indirectly:

• exporting, re-exporting or transferring in-country any item subject to the regulations to a denied person;
• facilitating or financing the acquisition of such items by a denied person;
• acquiring items from a denied person, or servicing US-origin items they own or control;
• applying for, obtaining or using any licence or licence exception on their behalf.

Mahan Airways, Al Naser Airlines, Ali Abdullah Alhay and Bahar Safwa General Trading may appeal the order, and related persons may challenge their inclusion, before the Administrative Law Judge of the US Coast Guard. BIS may seek a further renewal no later than 20 days before expiry.

Why it matters

The order is a standing warning to airlines, freight forwarders, lessors, traders and banks anywhere in the world: any transaction touching US-origin aircraft, engines or parts for these parties remains exposed to US enforcement, and the one-year horizon signals that Washington sees the diversion network as active rather than dismantled.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 206, 27 October 2026, Notices, p. 67542 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026–21840).