U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) wants President Donald Trump to block a multibillion-dollar aircraft sale between Boeing and Iran Air until the airline promises to stop supporting terrorism, according to a letter Roskam sent Trump.
Roskam claims that the 2016 lifting of sanctions against Iran Air freed the airline to serve as a troop transport arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a terrorist organization in the nation that has been providing military support to Syria. Now the airline has a deal with airplane manufacturer Boeing to purchase 80 commercial aircraft. Roskam alleges the Iran airline uses the commercial aircraft to ferry supplies and troops to nearby Syria.
“Iran Air continues transporting troops and weapons to Syria, while remaining sanction-free and able to buy hundreds of new aircraft to bolster its terror-supporting operations,” Roskam wrote in his letter. “Iran Air serves as a lifeline to the Assad Regime.”
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