United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has revealed that all Iranian airlines could in effect be shut out of international operations from Wednesday as he warned companies against providing services to the country’s carriers. Bessent stated that on 23 September all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world. He warned that the sanctions are not only aimed at airlines but also at the operations chain stating that if they land companies cannot provide them with fuel, landing services or sell them tickets or they will be knocked out of the dollar system.
The announcement marked a step up in US President Donald Trump’s Operation Economic Outcast to squeeze Tehran’s economy. Iran’s civil aviation sector has aged and fallen increasingly behind global standards due to decades-long US sanctions. On 8 September the US sanctioned all of the country’s 27 carriers which Washington has stated the regime uses to move weapons, personnel and illicit cargo. The principal carriers operating outside Iran are Mahan Air, state-owned Iran Air and Qeshm Air.
Mahan Air suspended flights to and from Istanbul and Ankara and between Tehran and Muscat late last week after the US sanctioned 36 foreign companies for supporting Iran’s aviation sector as a warning. Iran Air the national flag carrier once had an extensive European network that has in effect disappeared due to sanctions, fleet constraints and disruptions caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. Current route data showed just three international destinations: Najaf and Baghdad in Iraq and Istanbul.
Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary, shared: “On September 23, all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world. If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system.”
