An Iranian commercial airline; has provided assistance to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) by transporting operatives, weapons, equipment, and funds to international locations in furtherance of Iranian state-sponsored terror operations, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Has provided travel services to IRGC-QF personnel flown to and from Iran and Syria for military training; has facilitated the covert travel of IRGC-QF members by bypassing security procedures; transported former IRGC-QF commander Qassem Soleimani despite him being subject to a U.N. travel ban; has provided technical and operational assistance to the airline Qeshm Fars Air's support for IRGC-QF operations in Syria; has an agreement to provide the airline Syrian Air with civilian aircraft, other aviation-related materials, and maintenance services; has concealed procurement for Syrian Air by conducting the transfers through third-party intermediaries in other countries.

Has transported personnel, weapons, and goods on behalf of Lebanese Hizballah, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury; has received assistance from the Iran-based financial institution Bank Tejarat; has operated charter flights to Venezuela for Iranian technicians and technical equipment, reportedly receiving payment in the form of gold bars from the Central Bank of Venezuela.

Concluded a memorandum of understanding in 2016 with the since-dissolved U.S.-based company Aero Sky Aircraft Maintenance, Inc., according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury; allegedly worked with Iranian national Peyman Amiri Larijani, U.S. national Joyce Marie Eliabachus, and Eliabachus's U.S.-based company, Edsun Equipments LLC, to obtain U.S.-origin aircraft components via freight forwarders in Turkey and the UAE.

Has concluded a contract with Aban Air to carry international cargo and freight; has used the Thailand-based firm Asian Aviation Logistics to make payments; between 2013 and 2015, allegedly received assistance with financial transactions from Mohammad Zarrab, Al Nafees Exchange LLC (UAE), Ascot General Trading (UAE), Flash Doviz (Turkey), and Hanedan General Trading (UAE); received services and software from the Switzerland-based technology company Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques SCRL (SITA).

Destinations have included airports in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, and Vietnam; was denied landing rights by France and Germany in 2019 and reportedly by Italy in 2019 and Spain in 2020; listed by the European Union on September 12, 2007, as an air carrier subject to an operating ban within the E.U. due to serious safety deficiencies; the ban was repealed on July 25, 2008.

Operates offices in Imam Khomeini International Airport, Kish International Airport, Mashhad International Airport, Mehrabad International Airport, and Shiraz International Airport; maintains regional offices in Iran that use the names Qeshm Gasht Travel Agency, Kish Travels Co., and Elyad Gasht; uses cargo handling offices in Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, and the UAE.

Established in 1992 and began operations in 1993.

Sanctions

Added on October 12, 2011, to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), blocking its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism; foreign parties facilitating transactions for the entity or otherwise assisting the entity are subject to U.S. sanctions; also subject to the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations; foreign financial institutions facilitating transactions for the entity may be prohibited from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States; also designated by the U.S. Department of State on December 11, 2019, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

Added on March 21, 2008, to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Denied Persons List (DPL), prohibiting (with its representatives, agents, assigns or employees when acting on its behalf) for a period of 180 days, participation in any transaction or activity subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR); prohibition has been renewed every 180 days since its enactment, most recently on May 21, 2021.

Sanctioned on May 29, 2013, by the government of Canada for involvement in Iran's proliferation activities or affiliation with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), prohibiting (with some exceptions) its access to goods, funds, and related services in Canada.

Listed by the British government in 2012 as an entity of potential concern for WMD-related procurement, and has had export licenses both granted and denied by that government; removed in 2017 after the U.K. withdrew its Iran list.