The new sanctions were imposed on Iran Air for carrying missiles and other military gear for the Pasdaran. But Iran Air was already under US sanctions going back many years.
The old sanctions contained an exemption for ordinary travel. The new sanctions contain the very same exemption, the US Treasury has now announced. There is no change at all in the ability of Iranian-Americans to fly on Iran Air without fear of violating any US law.
After the new sanctions were issued last month, the Asian Law Caucus issued an analysis that said Iranian-Americans could no longer fly Iran Air. The Iran Times published that report last week, but raised questions about its accuracy and queryied the US Treasury. The Treasury has now clarified that there is no change in the travel right.
The same day Iran Air was sanctioned, the US Treasury also sanctioned Tidewater Middle East Co., the Iranian firm that manages eight of Iran’s ports. That has had far more practical impact than the Iran Air sanctions.
Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping firm, announced that it has suspended deliveries to those Tidewater ports and will not send its ships to them anymore. Maersk is a large supplier of refrigerated food cargoes to Iran. There was concern that the immediate suspension might impact such food supplies in Iran.
Maersk announced last Wednesday, “Maersk Line has decided to cease acceptance of business to and from the Iranian ports.” It said it would deliver cargoes now on the high seas, but accept no new cargoes.
Last year, Maersk was fined $3.1 million for violating US sanctions in shipments to Iran and Sudan from 2003 to 2007. The firm seemed eager to avoid any run-in with US law enforcement again.
Morton Englestoft, chief operating officer of Maersk, also said a number of other shipping lines have suspended their operations at Tidewater’s ports, but he declined to name them or give any number.
He said Maersk might be able to make deliveries of Iranian cargo to Dubai if Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf have the capacity to carry those shipments across to Iran.
Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line last week suspended direct voyages to Bandar Abbas, but Reuters reported it said that was for commercial reasons and not because of the US sanctions.
South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping and Switzerland’s Mediterranean Shipping Co. told Reuters their Iranian operations were not impacted by the new US sanctions. That raised the question of whether Maersk had over-reacted and might reverse its position after talking with the US Treasury.