TEHRAN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran would be able to deal with the issues concerning new U.S. sanctions against a number of Iranian airlines and entities, an Iranian aviation official said on Friday.
Over the past years, "sanctions against Iran's aviation have been in practice in different forms but Iran could manage it," Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, told official IRNA news agency.
"Iran aerial transportation industry will be able to protect itself against any cruel sanctions," Jafarzadeh was quoted as saying.
The United States on Thursday sanctioned nine individuals and entities for allegedly "procuring export-controlled, U.S.-origin goods for sanctioned Iranian airlines," and designated them as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).
U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also identified 31 aircraft in which entities previously designated as SDGTs have an interest.
The treasury said the newest designated persons and entities "have been procuring parts and providing services for the fleets of sanctioned Iranian airlines, including Mahan Air, Caspian Air, Meraj Air, and Pouya Air."
These actions were built upon U.S. President Donald Trump's decision earlier this month to cease the U.S. participation in the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and to begin re-imposing U.S. sanctions that had been lifted under the JCPOA.
