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The United States plans to isolate Iran’s commercial aviation network from global operations starting Wednesday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying all Iranian commercial airlines will be shut down worldwide from Sept. 23.
"On September 23rd, all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world," Bessent told CNBC as Washington outlined a broad set of secondary sanctions targeting Iran’s civil aviation sector.
The measures also put pressure on international aviation hubs that continue to deal with Iranian aircraft.
Bessent warned that facilities serving those planes could lose access to the U.S. banking system, while companies risked being cut off from dollar clearing if they refueled aircraft, provided landing facilities or sold passenger tickets.
Iranian officials did not immediately respond publicly to the planned restrictions.
The planned shutdown comes as Washington steps up economic measures against Tehran under Operation Economic Fury during the Iran war, which is now in its seventh month.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 36 targets linked to Iran’s aviation sector under Operation Economic Outcast on Sept. 8.
The action included all 27 Iranian airlines that had not previously been sanctioned under the aviation-sector authority, along with foreign intermediaries, cargo service providers and other companies Washington accused of supporting Iran’s aviation network.
The Treasury also targeted companies and intermediaries in Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Kazakhstan over alleged assistance to Iranian airlines and procurement of U.S.-origin aircraft and sensitive aviation technology.
Mahan Air, Iran’s largest privately held airline, has already suspended flights to Türkiye from Sept. 21 after Turkish authorities ordered the carrier to halt its services amid concerns over exposure to U.S. sanctions.
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