Obama Administration: Enabling Sales to Terror-Linked Airline is Consistent with U.S. Foreign Policy Goals

The Obama administration has determined that enabling the sale of aircraft and other materials to an Iranian airline sanctioned for ferrying weapons on behalf of Iran's military does not undermine its foreign policy goals, according to communications with Congress obtained exclusively by THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

Administration officials have resisted explaining why restrictions were dropped on Iran Air, which had been sanctioned for helping Iran bolster Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, among other illicit activities, and have not said whether the airline has stopped engaging in the activities it was originally sanctioned for.

“I'm not at liberty to go into the reasons behind the fact that it was removed from the SDN [Specially Designated Nationals] list," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in June.

In response to a recent inquiry from Illinois representative Peter Roskam, the Treasury Department revealed that delisting the airline promoted the administration's foreign policy priorities.

"We made the commitment to remove Iran Air from the SDN List only after a careful review of its activity to ensure that its removal would be consistent with our national security and foreign policy goals," the letter said.