Washington/Tehran, September 9 (ANI): The United States has imposed sanctions on 27 Iranian airlines and several foreign entities accused of supporting Tehran’s aviation and military networks, as tensions between Washington and Iran escalated further with Iranian missile strikes on a US-linked air base in Jordan and claims that Iran had seized an American unmanned underwater vehicle near the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Department of the Treasury said the latest measures effectively target the remaining commercial aviation sector in Iran as part of Washington’s intensified pressure campaign against Tehran.
“Iran’s commercial airlines have long supported the Iranian regime’s destabilising activities,” the Treasury said, alleging that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has routinely used ostensibly private airlines to procure and transport weapons and personnel.
The United States first sanctioned Iranian carrier Mahan Air in October 2011 and subsequently targeted several companies acting as its general sales agents on July 30.
The latest measures also target what Washington described as covert front companies, foreign intermediaries and deceptive transhipment routes used by Iran to obtain US-origin aircraft and sensitive aviation technology.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four entities based in Türkiye, Malaysia and Kazakhstan for allegedly operating as cargo service providers and general sales agents for Mahan Air.
OFAC also suspended authorisations that had previously permitted overflights and allowed non-US airlines to operate US-origin or US-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.
In a related move, the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert urging financial institutions worldwide to identify and report procurement networks supporting Iran’s aviation sector.
The Treasury said Mahan Air had acquired at least three Boeing 777 aircraft during the summer of 2026, allegedly diverting them covertly through the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Iran launches missile strikes on Jordan
Amid the mounting economic pressure, Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes targeting Jordan on Wednesday, with the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which is used by American forces, reportedly the target.
The strikes followed a US military operation on Tuesday against five Iranian tankers allegedly linked to the IRGC.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said, in a statement carried by the state-backed IRNA news agency, that it had “struck the American Al-Azraq base in Jordan with heavy missile strikes” in what it described as a “punitive operation.”
The Jordanian military said its air-defence systems detected 20 incoming ballistic missiles and intercepted 18 of them, while two missiles landed in unpopulated areas.
The latest exchange followed a US Central Command (CENTCOM) operation against five Iranian tankers. US officials said four crude-oil carriers were targeted in the Gulf of Oman and a fifth vessel near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.
The strikes came after repeated missile attacks by Iranian forces against a US Navy warship over the preceding 48 hours, according to CENTCOM. The American warship successfully evaded the attacks, continued its regional patrol and suffered no casualties, while tanker crews were instructed to evacuate before the US strikes.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters during an official visit to Colombia, warned Tehran that Washington would continue retaliating if Iranian forces attacked American naval assets.
“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships and for every time they do that, or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers,” Rubio said in Barranquilla.
Iran claims capture of US underwater drone
The military confrontation also extended beneath the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have seized an American unmanned underwater vehicle.
Iranian state media identified the device as a Dive-LD, a large autonomous underwater vehicle manufactured by California-based defence contractor Anduril.
The approximately 19-foot submersible is designed for a range of missions, including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering and inspection of submerged infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.
The Revolutionary Guards Navy said it had “trapped one of the most modern, intelligent and unmanned submarines” of the US military at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that the vehicle was equipped with advanced technology.
The Pentagon disputed the Iranian account, saying the underwater drone had suffered a technical failure more than a day earlier.
A Pentagon spokesperson said the vehicle had been surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations but described it as an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried classified sonar or radar equipment.
Oil prices rise amid escalation
The escalating confrontation has also affected global energy markets, with oil prices rising for a fourth consecutive session.
Brent crude futures increased by USD 1.57, or 1.6 per cent, to USD 94.49 a barrel during early Wednesday trading. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by USD 1.60, or 1.72 per cent, to USD 94.63 a barrel.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, said Tehran would continue resisting what he described as aggression while maintaining that Iran opposed war.
Writing on X, Pezeshkian said the Islamic Republic had consistently opposed war and viewed the preservation of the Iranian people’s interests and regional security as dependent on avoiding “warmongering.”
He said Iran would nevertheless continue its resistance “with strength” until those responsible for aggression were brought to “complete regret,” adding that Tehran would continue to defend the rights of the Iranian people.
The latest developments mark a further escalation in the confrontation between the United States and Iran, with economic sanctions, attacks on maritime targets, missile strikes and competing claims over military operations adding to uncertainty across the wider West Asia region and global energy markets. (ANI)
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