Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA), the state regulatory body for civil aviation, said on September 10 that Georgia will act “in full compliance with the international sanctions regime,” two days after the United States announced new sanctions against Iranian airlines, some of which operate flights to Georgia.
“Since the expanded sanctions list announced by the U.S. State Department includes airlines that currently operate air travel between Georgia and Iran, the Georgian side, as in other cases, will act now as well in full compliance with the international sanctions regime,” GCAA said.
On September 8, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 36 targets, including 27 Iranian airlines, “for supporting Iran’s aviation sector, which the regime uses to move weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo.”
Among the Iranian airlines sanctioned by OFAC are Qeshm Air, Varesh Airlines, Sepehran Airlines, Fly Kish Airlines, Taban Airlines and AVA Airlines, which operate flights to Tbilisi and Batumi, according to RFE/RL’s Georgian Service.
According to RFE/RL, a day after the sanctions were announced, Sepehran Airlines, one of the sanctioned carriers, operated a flight from Tehran to Tbilisi, with the aircraft landing at 11:51 on September 9.
“Georgia actively upholds and ensures compliance with sanctions imposed by our international partners,” the GCAA said in its September 10 statement. “This also applies to the aviation sector.”
The agency said that in the process of admitting foreign airlines to the Georgian aviation market, Georgia is “guided by national legislation, the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and bilateral or multilateral international agreements.”
It noted that while making decisions, Georgia also “takes into account the sanctions mechanisms by the European Union and the United States.”
The GCAA said that to ensure the safety of passengers, the local aviation market, and infrastructure for years, as an additional monitoring mechanism, it has been guided by “the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”) and all other sanctions lists administered by OFAC.” Accordingly, it continued, “Georgia has previously restricted the operations of several airlines as well.”
The agency said Georgia “will continue to fully ensure compliance with international requirements and will continue to be guided by these mechanisms.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent, announcing “Operation Economic Outcast,” warned that “any entity that facilitates money laundering or sanctions evasion on behalf of Iran risks being cut off from the U.S. financial system.” The measures also expand “secondary sanctions exposure for those who continue doing business with the Iranian regime and will accelerate the pace of U.S. enforcement.”
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