U.S. Vows to Cut Off Iranian Airlines by Targeting Any Airport Using the Dollar System
U.S. Secretary of State Scott Bassant says Washington will disconnect from the dollar system any airport that services Iranian planes, starting 23 September, in an attempt to “shut down all Iranian airlines.”
The United States is turning Iran’s civilian air links into a direct test of access to the dollar system.
On 21 September, U.S. Secretary of State Scott Bassant announced that on 23 September Washington will “shut down all Iranian airlines.” He said this would happen by cutting off from the dollar system any airport where Iranian planes land and receive any type of service.
Because most international aviation fees, fuel purchases, and aircraft‑related payments are settled in dollars, being disconnected from the dollar system would sharply raise the cost of hosting Iranian carriers, or make it impractical altogether.
The move comes as tensions with Iran are already high. U.S. aircraft, including tankers and P‑8 Poseidon maritime patrol planes, have been operating near the Strait of Hormuz, and an E‑3G airborne early warning aircraft recently took off from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that its forces are ready to deliver “decisive and devastating responses” against what it calls an exhausted and aggressor enemy, and has demanded a region free of U.S. and Israeli presence.
The key indicators now will be how many governments and airports publicly suspend Iranian flights to avoid losing dollar access, whether any major hubs try to keep servicing Iranian airlines despite the threat, and how Tehran responds in its own air and maritime corridors.
Sources
- OSINT