U.S. sanctions halt most Iran international flights as Tehran threatens Gulf countries over aviation squeeze
New U.S. sanctions have sharply reduced Iran’s international flights, with Washington’s Treasury chief saying more than 80–90% of routes are halted and warning Iranian officials may struggle to return home from the UN.
New U.S. sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector have drastically reduced the country’s international flights and sparked warnings from Tehran aimed at Gulf states.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, announcing the measures, said more than 80% or 90% of international flights from Iran have been halted. He added that he wasn’t sure how Iranian representatives at the United Nations would get back home.
The sanctions target Iranian aviation as part of a wider U.S. effort to restrict Tehran’s regional activity. In response, Iran has threatened to attack countries in the Persian Gulf following American sanctions on Iranian airlines, according to a report summarizing Tehran’s reaction to what it called paralysis of its aviation sector.
The aviation squeeze comes against a backdrop of broader attempts to limit Iran’s access to military-related supplies. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iranian customs data show about 1,300 shipments of Chinese dual-use components to Iran’s Defense Ministry in the first half of this year, including electronics, motors, GPS equipment and aircraft parts that can be used in drones and missiles. It said shipments accelerated after the U.S. blockaded Iranian sea trade, with sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air sharply increasing cargo flights.
The combined effect is to push more of Iran’s sensitive trade into the air even as legal passenger traffic is cut back, leaving Gulf governments and airlines weighing how strictly to enforce U.S. restrictions and how to respond to Iran’s threats.
Key signals to watch now are how rigorously regional states apply the new aviation limits, whether Iran follows through on any of its threats toward Gulf countries enforcing them, and whether there is any move to carve out humanitarian exemptions for limited flights.
Sources
- OSINT