With Argentina's help, U.S. seizes Boeing 747 used by Iran's military

Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The Justice Department said on Monday it has taken custody of a Boeing 747 cargo plane used by Mahan Air to transport supplies and fighters for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp-Qods Force.

The department said Argentina transferred the plane to the United States on Sunday, completing forfeiture actions. Mahan Air is sanctioned by the Treasury Department while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods is listed as a terrorist organization.

"The seized American-built aircraft was transferred by a sanctioned Iranian airline in a transaction that violated U.S. export control laws and directly benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a designated terrorist organization," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said in a statement.

"The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that the full force of U.S. laws denies hostile state actors the means to engage in malign activities that threaten our national security."

Assistant Secretary of Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said Mahan Air has a history of using its planes to deliver weapons and fighters for the Qods Force and Hezbollah, in violations of U.S. law.

"Now it's the property of the United States government," Axelrod said. "This seized airplane's arrival in the United States is a powerful example of our increasing efforts to prevent Iran and its proxies from leveraging and profiting from U.S. technology."

Mahan Air has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019 for its aid to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard-Qods Corps. In 2020, the U.S. Treasury blacklisted Amin Mahdavi, the CEO of Parthia Cargo, for supporting Mahan Air.