Iranian airlines were forced to cancel some international flights on Wednesday after the United States tightened sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry in a new effort to put pressure on the country’s economy.
A travel agent in Tehran told AFP that flights to Baghdad, Muscat, Qatar, Georgia and Azerbaijan had been suspended. However, flights to several other destinations, including China, remained available.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the new measures Monday as part of an earlier threat to impose “economic D-Day” on Iran in an effort to force the country into submission after nearly seven months of war.
Iran’s aviation industry has already faced U.S. sanctions for years, and it remains unclear how much impact the latest measures will have and which other countries will comply.
Despite the new sanctions taking effect Wednesday, a Mahan Air flight from Tehran landed in Guangzhou, China, according to FlightRadar24 tracking data. Mahan Air is one of Iran’s largest airlines.
China said Tuesday that it opposed the U.S. sanctions and called them illegal. A flight to Shanghai was also scheduled to depart Wednesday, according to Tehran’s international airport.
Some flights to Istanbul were also scheduled, although others had been canceled, the Tehran travel agent told AFP.
“The situation is unstable and we are no longer selling tickets for the time being for fear of cancellations,” the agent said, requesting anonymity.
A Mahan Air flight from Kabul was also expected to arrive in Tehran. According to Tehran’s international airport website, flights to Turkey and Armenia remained available through smaller Iranian airlines, including Varesh.
Flights to Najaf in Iraq and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates were also scheduled.
Bessent said Monday that the United States would “shut down” Iranian airlines and punish anyone doing business with them.
“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,” he warned other countries.
The new restrictions are expected to make it more difficult for Iranians to travel abroad or return home.
Pilgrims
Iranian media also reported flight cancellations. On Tuesday, the Tasnim news agency quoted a civil aviation spokesman as saying airports in Baghdad and Muscat “will no longer accept” Iranian flights.
However, the agency said “other international flights, including Istanbul, will operate as scheduled.”
Tasnim reported that Iranian aviation authorities were discussing plans to redirect flights from Baghdad to Najaf, a major destination for Iranian pilgrims.
On Wednesday, the agency said its correspondent in Najaf reported that Iranian flights to the city were operating normally.
It quoted an airport source as saying that no order had been received from Iraqi authorities to stop the flights.
The Iraqi government has not publicly announced whether it will enforce the ban. However, several sources, including a senior government official, told AFP that Baghdad would comply with the U.S. measures.
The possibility of suspending flights between Iran and Iraq has raised concerns among some Iraqi travel agents.
In Najaf, which is home to one of the most revered Shiite Muslim shrines, travel agent Haidar Shamaa said “most travel companies in the city depend on booking flights” to Iranian airports.
Several travel agencies said worried customers were calling for updates and considering traveling by land instead. Such journeys would take much longer.
