The U.S. Commerce Department, through its Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), has updated its list of aircraft that have flown into Russia in apparent violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding a fourth Iranian-owned and -operated aircraft providing cargo flight services on U.S.-origin aircraft to Russia. Public reporting shows that an airplane owned by Saha Airlines, which itself is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, has flown into Russia without BIS authorization since export controls were imposed on such aircraft on February 24, 2022. There are now a total of 184 aircraft identified on the list for apparent violations of U.S. export controls.
“Last Monday, we announced that three Iranian cargo planes have been backfilling items to Russia in an attempt to circumvent our hard-hitting export controls,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod.” Today, we’ve identified a fourth Iranian cargo plane that has flown to Russia in violation of our controls, this one under the control of the Iranian Air Force. Given Iran’s support for Russia’s war machine, including the recent provisioning of unmanned aerial vehicles, we are alerting the global aviation community that support for such aircraft violates our controls and is subject to enforcement action.”
Any subsequent actions taken with regard to any of the listed aircraft, including, but not limited to, refueling, maintenance, repair, or the provision of spare parts or services, are subject to the prohibitions outlined in General Prohibition Ten of the EAR (15 C.F.R. § 736.2(b)(10)), which provides:
(10) General Prohibition Ten - Proceeding with transactions with knowledge that a violation has occurred or is about to occur (Knowledge Violation to Occur). You may not sell, transfer, export, reexport, finance, order, buy, remove, conceal, store, use, loan, dispose of, transport, forward, or otherwise service, in whole or in part, any item subject to the EAR and exported or to be exported with knowledge that a violation of the Export Administration Regulations, the Export Administration Act or any order, license, License Exception, or other authorization issued thereunder has occurred, is about to occur, or is intended to occur in connection with the item. Nor may you rely upon any license or License Exception after notice to you of the suspension or revocation of that license or exception. There are no License Exceptions to this General Prohibition Ten in part 740 of the EAR.
The list below has been updated with additions in bold. Please note this list is not exhaustive, and the restrictions also apply in any situation in which a person has knowledge that a violation of the EAR has occurred, is about to occur, or is intended to occur in connection with an aircraft or other item that is subject to the EAR, whether or not such aircraft or other item is included on this list. This list will continue to be updated as circumstances warrant.
Additional BIS resources on export controls implemented in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are available at: https://bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/country-guidance/Russia-belarus
Report suspected export control violations through the BIS online tip portal. You can also call the Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-424-2980 or email EELead@bis.doc.gov.
These BIS actions were taken under the authority of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 and the EAR. For more information, visit www.bis.doc.gov.
Original source can be found here.
