The Media Line: Iranian Airline, Banned by US and Europe, Launches Commercial Flights to Afghanistan  

Iranian Airline, Banned by US and Europe, Launches Commercial Flights to Afghanistan  

By Arshad Mehmood/The Media Line  

A US-blacklisted Iranian carrier, Meraj Airlines, has begun operating commercial flights to Afghanistan, according to the Taliban administration in the northern province of Balkh.  

The move highlights Tehran’s continued efforts to expand its regional presence despite long-standing US sanctions targeting its aviation and defense sectors.  

Haji Zaid, the Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Balkh, was quoted by Afghan International, a London-based 24/7 Afghanistan News Channel, as saying on Saturday that Meraj Airlines would offer four flights per week between Iran and Afghanistan: one to Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital, and three to Kabul.  

The inaugural flight reportedly landed in Mazar-i-Sharif with 120 passengers from Iran.  

Meraj Airlines, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Tehran, was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in August 2014 under Executive Order 13224, which targets entities accused of supporting terrorism or facilitating the transport of weapons.  

The Treasury alleged that Meraj had transferred “illicit cargo, including weapons,” from Iran to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key Iranian ally during the Syrian civil war. The airline is still barred from operating in the United States and the European Union.  

The re-emergence of a US-designated entity in Afghanistan’s aviation sector highlights Iran’s growing engagement with the Taliban-led government—a relationship that has deepened since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.  

Analysts note that such connections allow Tehran to project soft influence through economic and transport links while circumventing Western isolation.  

Until now, Afghanistan’s regular flight operations were handled almost exclusively by domestic carriers: Ariana Afghan Airlines, the semi-state-owned national carrier, and the privately owned Kam Air.  

The entry of an Iranian airline—particularly one under Western sanctions—adds a new geopolitical layer to the country’s limited aviation network.  

The move also comes amid renewed US and Western pressure on Tehran over its controversial nuclear program.  

Washington and its allies have maintained multiple layers of sanctions against Iran, not only for its support of armed groups across the Middle East but also for its uranium enrichment activities and its repeated refusal to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.  

These measures target key sectors of the Iranian economy, including energy, banking, shipping, and aviation.  

Regional observers believe that the Taliban’s willingness to host a sanctioned airline may draw quiet concern from Western governments already wary of Afghanistan’s growing economic and political ties with Iran, China, Russia, and India.  

While no independent confirmation has yet verified Meraj’s ongoing flight operations to Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban administration’s announcement signals a deepening of Iran-Afghanistan cooperation—one that sits squarely at odds with Western sanctions policy and Washington’s broader attempts to isolate Tehran.