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World

Iranian flights cancelled as US sanctions deadline hits

Iraq suspended Iranian flights to Baghdad and three Turkish airlines axed Iran routes as the US secondary-sanctions threat against Iranian carriers took effect on 23 September.

By James Calloway · · 1 min read

An Iran Air aircraft parked at a gate with boarding stairs at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport
Tasnim News Agency, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · source

Iraq has ordered its civil aviation authority to suspend Iranian flights to Baghdad airport from Wednesday, after the United States threatened to sanction any airport servicing Iranian carriers, two Iraqi sources told Reuters.

The suspension begins at midnight on Wednesday, and Baghdad is discussing diverting Iranian Airways flights from Baghdad to Najaf airport instead, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, Reuters reported on 22 September.

Three Turkish carriers — Turkish Airlines, AJet and Pegasus — have cancelled flights to and from Iran, i24NEWS reported. The Turkish Airlines and AJet websites show no flights to Iran until March 2027, while Pegasus has removed Iran from its booking system entirely.

In its first acknowledgement of the disruption, Iranian media reported late on Tuesday that flights from Tehran to Baghdad and Muscat would be cancelled from Wednesday. The Tasnim news agency cited Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization as saying all remaining international flights, including Istanbul, would operate as scheduled. Iran’s ISNA agency added that Iranian travellers were not currently being admitted at the airport in Oman, Reuters reported.

The measures follow US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s warning on Monday that “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down” on 23 September, and that anyone providing them with fuel, landing services or tickets would be “knocked out of the dollar system”. On Monday, Georgia barred Iranian carriers, while Iran’s Mahan Air suspended service to Turkey at the Turkish government’s request.

Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraq-suspends-iranian-flights-baghdad-after-us-sanctions-threat-sources-say-2026-09-22/ | https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/artc-three-turkish-airlines-cancel-flights-to-iran-as-us-sanctions-take-effect | https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/world/2026/Sep/23/us-sanctions-tighten-grip-on-irans-airlines-as-flights-to-iraq-oman-cancelled

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