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Iranian airlines have canceled all flights to the United Arab Emirates and suspended flights to Azerbaijan following U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector, local media reported.
The suspension follows U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement that all commercial Iranian airlines would be barred from operating worldwide from Sept. 23. He also warned that international hubs providing services to Iranian aircraft would be cut off entirely from the U.S. banking system.
Flights from Tehran to Iraq’s Baghdad and Oman’s Muscat were also canceled on Sept. 23 following the U.S. sanctions decision, while Iranian aviation officials discussed the possibility of rerouting Baghdad-bound services to Najaf in Iraq.
A Tehran-Dushanbe flight was forced to return to Imam Khomeini International Airport after Turkmenistan denied permission for Iranian airlines to cross its airspace, preventing the aircraft from reaching its destination, according to an Iranian aviation official.
A travel agent in Tehran told AFP that services to Baghdad, Muscat, Qatar, Georgia and Azerbaijan had been halted, although flights to some other destinations continued. Services to Istanbul remained on the schedule, while flights to China continued despite the new sanctions.
A Mahan Air flight from Tehran also landed in Guangzhou on Wednesday after the U.S. measures took effect, according to FlightRadar24 data.
The latest flight disruptions follow a sweeping U.S. sanctions campaign targeting Iran’s commercial aviation network. On Sept. 8, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 36 entities involved in supporting Iran’s aviation sector and designated 27 Iranian airlines under existing sanctions authorities.
The action also builds on earlier U.S. measures against Mahan Air and companies involved in supporting its international operations. In July, the Treasury Department sanctioned entities and individuals in China, India, Russia, and Iran that it accused of providing commercial and logistical support to Mahan Air.
Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Bessent estimated that more than 80% to 90% of external flights from Iran had been shut down and questioned how Iranian representatives attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York would return home.
"We are squeezing the Iranians like they’ve never seen today," Bessent said, adding that Washington would continue targeting companies and financial institutions that support Iran.
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