US sanctions Indian support network for Iran's Mahan Air

The United States has issued new sanctions targeting global networks supporting Mahan Air, the Iranian carrier, Washington says transports Iran's Revolutionary ​Guards personnel, as well as weapons ​and drones.

The US Treasury designated six entities ⁠and individuals in China, India, Russia ​and Iran, including several companies that act ​as sales agents for the US- and EU-sanctioned airline, the department said in a statement.

The move ​comes as a drone strike on ​gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta ‌signalled ⁠a potential new front in the US-Iran war, raising the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal, ​one of ​the last ⁠remaining export routes for Saudi oil.

Treasury said it was also ​sanctioning a front company associated ​with ⁠the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that has supported Iran's "kinetic targeting" during the war.

Thursday's ⁠action "further ​disrupts the network underpinning ​Iran’s destabilizing activities across the region," Treasury said.