[Photo Credit: Reuters]

The United States on Tuesday issued 36 Iran-related sanctions targeting the country’s aviation sector and other companies as part of a broad ​push to escalate economic pressure on Tehran as the war in the Middle East has moved into a seventh month.

The U.S. Treasury ‌Department said the action was aimed at grounding Iran’s Mahan Air, which was already sanctioned by the U.S. and the European Union, and expanding sanctions to all other Iranian airlines. The sanctions also took aim at covert front companies, cargo handlers, foreign intermediaries and deceptive trans-shipment routes that Washington says Iran relies on to obtain U.S.-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.

The Treasury instructed financial institutions to report any procurement networks ​supporting Iran’s aviation industry, while designating firms in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Kazakhstan that it said had helped Iran’s airlines operate and Tehran ​acquire U.S.-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also suspended three Iran-related aviation authorizations that allowed overflights and permitted ⁠non-U.S. airlines to fly U.S.-origin or U.S.-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.

Miad Maleki, a former senior Treasury official and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, ​said the suspension would hit air traffic from Dubai, Doha and Istanbul, shutting Tehran’s main gateways to regional trade and finance. OFAC’s action also closes previous ​carve-outs that allowed transport of safety parts, fuel and emergency repairs, he said.

Tuesday’s actions marked a sharp escalation of the Trump administration’s renewed push to squeeze Iran’s economy and pressure Tehran to loosen its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. naval blockade and tougher sanctions are curbing Iran’s oil exports, restricting access to foreign currency and exposing growing strains in the economy.

Treasury ​said any foreign firm or individual aiding Iranian airlines through aircraft transfers, cargo services or general sales agent support would face serious consequences.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week warned that airlines were possible sanctions targets along with digital assets and the maritime industry.

On Tuesday, Treasury designated 27 Iranian airlines, as well as several firms based in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for helping Mahan Air secure at least three Boeing B-777 aircraft this summer that had been retired ​elsewhere.

It hit UAE-based Egyptian citizen Ibrahim ​Ali Mohamed Mohamed Mahran, the chief ⁠executive of ECT Aviation Support, as well as the British unit of the firm.

OFAC also imposed sanctions on two firms based in Turkey and Malaysia that it said had serviced Mahan Air’s international flights and coordinated cargo shipments.

The U.S. ​Treasury has repeatedly targeted global networks supporting Mahan Air. In July, Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China, ​India, Russia and Iran, ⁠including several firms that act as sales agents for the airline. Washington first sanctioned Mahan in 2011 over support it provided to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.