US says it’s taken possession of a Boeing 747 that Iran illegally sold to a Venezuelan firm

By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government says it has seized a Boeing 747 cargo plane that officials say was previously sold by a sanctioned Iranian airline to a state-owned Venezuelan firm in violation of American export control laws. The Justice Department said Monday that the American-built plane had arrived in Florida and would be disposed of. The plane had belonged to Iranian airline Mahan Air, which officials have alleged provides support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. It was transferred to Emtrasur, a Venezuelan cargo airline and subsidiary of a state-owned firm. Officials said the sale violated export control laws and also improperly benefited Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.