OFAC SANCTIONS IRAQI FLY BAGHDAD AIRLINE FOR PROVIDING LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO THE IRGC

FLY BAGHDAD 

For several years, Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad has supported the operations of the IRGC-QF and its proxies by delivering materiel and personnel throughout the region. Fly Baghdad flights have delivered shipments of weapons to Damascus International Airport in Syria for transfer to members of the IRGC-QF and Iran-aligned militia groups on the ground in Syria, including the Syrian Arab Republican Guard, Lebanese Hizballah, KH, and the KH-affiliated Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade. OFAC designated the Syrian Arab Republican Guard in 2016 for its role in perpetuating violence on the Syrian people, and State designated Hizballah as an FTO in 1997 and as an SDGT in 2001 for engaging in acts of terror. Fly Baghdad has delivered to these groups operating in Syria a range of weapons, including Iranian-made Fateh, Zulfiqar, and al-Fajr series missiles, as well as AK-47s, RPG-7s, and other grenades and machine guns. 

KH has been using Fly Baghdad to transport fighters, weapons, and money to Syria and Lebanon to prop up the Syrian regime. KH leaders used Fly Baghdad flights on multiple occasions to transport bags of U.S. currency and U.S.-made weapons obtained through battlefield collection from Iraq to Lebanon. KH sent fighters from Iraq to Lebanon on flights operated by Fly Baghdad and U.S.-designated Al-Nasr Wings to attend special operations training run by Hizballah. In October 2023, following Hamas’s horrific terrorist attack on Israeli civilians, Fly Baghdad was involved in the transfer of hundreds of Iraqi fighters, including fighters affiliated with U.S.-designated terrorist organization and Iranian proxy militia Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), in support of the Iranian proxies’ attacks on Israel.

Fly Baghdad is being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF. 

Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani (al-Shabbani) is the CEO of Fly Baghdad. Al-Shabbani is being designated for owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, Fly Baghdad. 

OFAC is also identifying two Iraq-registered aircraft owned by Fly Baghdad, with tail numbers YI-BAF and YI-BAN, as blocked property in which Fly Baghdad has an interest.  (FROM THE US TREASURY WEBSITE 1/22/2024)

Sanctioned aircraft

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