Terror Airlines? Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps runs country's largest airline, report says A new report released by an Iranian opposition group claims that Iran’s biggest airline — Mahan Air — is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Qods Force. This force is commanded by notorious Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. The new report published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) states that the so-called private airline, Iran’s largest commercial airliner, is anything but commercial, and in fact works as a tool for Iran’s expansionist policies. President Donald Trump sanctioned the IRGC last month for supporting terrorism. The report titled, “An IRGC Qods Force entity operating under the guise of a private company,” stated that one of the most significant findings “was that Mahan Air Corporation does not merely cooperate with the IRGC and the Qods Force, but is wholly owned and controlled by them.” This is the same...

Time to Designate Hezbollah as a Transnational Criminal Organization Emanuele Ottolenghi 4th October 2017 -  FDD Policy Brief Intended to fight transnational organized crime, Executive Orders  13581  and  13773  lay out a clear policy that identifies the convergence between terror finance networks and transnational organized crime as a critical threat to our national security. Regardless, neither President Trump nor President Obama designated Hezbollah as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO). Labeling Hezbollah as a TCO is a long overdue measure, given the growing body of evidence showing Hezbollah’s global involvement in transnational crime. Hezbollah now derives hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from criminal activities. Especially in Latin America, Hezbollah operatives have built  extensive and enduring ties  with drug cartels. But Latin American governments are reluctant to treat Hezbollah and its local networks as a terror...