US House Representatives have proposed a series of Bills aimed at tightening Iran's compliance with the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in January last year with the P5+1 group (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, plus Germany).

The legislation comes as the new Republican-controlled Congress, Senate, and Presidency have collectively warned Iran of severe repercussions for what, they claim, is its continued support for terrorism, human rights abuses, and ballistic missile program.

The Terror-Free Skies Act, introduced by Peter Roskam (R-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Lee Zeldin (R-NY) last month, aims to curb the use of commercial aircraft in support of international terrorism.

If passed into law, US President Donald Trump, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Director of National Intelligence, will be required to report on the Iranian government's use of commercial aircraft and related services for any 'illicit military or other activities, and for other purposes'.

"IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad) remains owned and operated by the Iranian government and has, since January 16, 2016, flown numerous unscheduled flights on well-known weapons supply routes between Iran and Syria," a draft copy reads. "In correspondence with U.S. Members of Congress, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has refused to confirm that Iran Air has ceased its illicit activity. Evidence supports that despite being removed from the Specially Designated National (SDN) list on January 16, 2016, Iran Air has since continued its illicit and sanctionable activity in support of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), MODAFL (the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics), Hezbollah, and the Bashar al-Assad regime since January 16, 2016."

Should any Iranian airline be found to be participating in said illegal activities, the President will be required to have the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury, designate them SDNs.

In the event that Washington's investigations do implicate Iran Air, the carrier's return to SDN status would scupper multi-billion dollar deals already signed with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and Boeing (BOE, Washington National). An agreement with ATR - Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac) is understood to be still pending.

The Iran Nonnuclear Sanctions Act of 2017, proposed by Peter Roskam (R-IL), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), and Doug Lamborn (R-CO), on February 1, will specifically target Mahan Air (W5, Tehran Mehrabad) and any entity found to be assisting it in any way.

While Mahan Air is already an SDN given its alleged links to the IRGC, Hezbollah, and Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, the carrier still carries out regular flights to Europe and the Middle and Far East.

As such, the Bill will sanction any person that provides, directly or indirectly, goods, services, technology, or financial services, including the sale or provision of aircraft or aircraft parts, fuel, ramp assistance, baggage and cargo handling, catering, refueling, ticketing, check-in services, crew handling, or other services related to flight operations, to Mahan Air or its agents or affiliates, or for aircraft of Mahan Air or its agents or affiliates.

It will also sanction anyone that controls, manages, or directs Mahan Air or any of its agents or affiliates; any individual who is on the board of directors of Mahan Air or any of its agents or affiliates; any entity in which Mahan Air or an agent or affiliate of Mahan Air that owns, directly or indirectly, a 25% or greater interest, regardless of whether the entity is included on the list of SDNs and blocked persons.

Sanctions include the blocking of any such individual's transactions and their exclusion from entering the United States.

US Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Todd Young (R-IN), and John Cornyn (R-TX) have introduced similar legislation in the United States Senate.