Iranian airlines cancelled some international flights on Wednesday after the United States tightened sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry in a new effort to put further 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, although routes to several other destinations, including China, remained available.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the new measures on Monday, following an earlier threat to impose “economic D-Day” on Iran in an effort to force Tehran into submission after nearly seven months of war.
Iran’s aviation industry has been under US sanctions for years, however, and the full impact of the latest measures remains unclear, particularly over whether other countries will enforce them.
Even after the new sanctions took effect on Wednesday, a Mahan Air flight from Tehran landed in Guangzhou, China, according to FlightRadar24 tracking data.
China on Tuesday said it opposed the US sanctions and described them as illegal. A flight from Tehran to Shanghai was also scheduled to depart on Wednesday, according to Tehran’s international airport.
Some flights to Istanbul were also operating, although others had been cancelled, the Tehran-based 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 around midday. The website of Tehran’s international airport showed that connections to Turkey and Armenia remained available through smaller Iranian carriers, including Varesh.
Flights to Najaf in Iraq and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates were also scheduled.
Bessent on Monday vowed to “shut down” Iranian airlines and punish companies and countries that continued 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.
The restrictions are expected to further complicate international travel for Iranians, including those seeking to leave the country or return home.
Pilgrims face travel disruption
Iranian media also reported flight cancellations. Tasnim news agency on Tuesday quoted a civil aviation spokesman as saying that airports in Baghdad and Muscat “will no longer accept” Iranian flights.
“Other international flights, including Istanbul, will operate as scheduled and as usual, and at present there are no problems with these flights,” Tasnim reported.
Iranian aviation authorities were also in talks to reroute flights to Baghdad through Najaf, a major destination for Iranian pilgrims, according to Tasnim.
In Iraq, the government has not publicly announced plans to enforce the US measures. However, several sources, including a senior government official, told AFP that Baghdad would comply with the sanctions.
The possibility of flights between Iran and Iraq being suspended has raised concerns among Iraqi travel agents, particularly in Najaf, a major destination for Iranian pilgrims.
Haidar Shamaa, a travel agent in Najaf, said “most travel companies in the city depend on booking flights” to Iranian airports.
Several travel agencies said anxious customers were calling for updates and considering switching to land routes, which would involve significantly longer journeys.
AFP
