Politics
US aviation sanctions on Iran take effect as Tehran halts Iraq, Oman flights
September 23, 2026 at 05:27 AM · Updated 23d ago
Coverage
9 reports · 8 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 15 hours
New US sanctions on Iran's aviation sector took effect Wednesday, grounding Iranian carriers and forcing flight cancellations to Baghdad and Muscat.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said all Iranian airlines would cease operations from September 23 under threat of secondary sanctions on aviation service providers.
- Iran's Civil Aviation Organization cancelled flights from Tehran to Baghdad and Muscat as of midnight, with negotiations to redirect Baghdad flights to Najaf Airport.
- Azerbaijan suspended Iranian airlines' flights from September 22, while Georgia banned all Iranian flights and Mahan Air halted Turkey service at Ankara's request.
- Bessent told CNBC that entities fueling, landing, or selling tickets to Iranian carriers would be excluded from the dollar-based financial system.
- Iranian airlines will continue other international routes, including flights to Istanbul, despite the cancellation of Baghdad and Muscat services.
- The US Treasury sanctions target 27 Iranian airlines and nine linked individuals and companies, announced on September 8.
- The UK announced new sanctions banning Iranian cargo planes from landing in Britain starting September 29, with limited exceptions.
- A Mahan Air flight from Tehran landed in Guangzhou, China, on Wednesday despite the sanctions, according to flight-tracking site FlightRadar24.
- An Iran Air Airbus A330-200 from Tehran landed at Istanbul Airport at 10:43 local time, continuing the airline's regular service to Turkey.




