Iran threatens to paralyse neighbouring airports over US flight sanctions

Iran has threatened to disable airports in neighbouring countries if they cooperate with new sanctions aimed at grounding its airlines.

“If a country cooperates with or embarks on adventures with the United States, its airports will no longer be able to operate flights,” Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview with state television on Wednesday.

The warning followed a Monday announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that all Iranian airlines would effectively be forced to stop operating from 23 September under the threat of secondary sanctions on companies providing aviation services — part of what he has dubbed an “economic D-Day” for Iran, seven months into the war between the two countries.

Georgia and Azerbaijan officially confirmed they had suspended Iranian flights, while a travel agent in Tehran told AFP that flights to Baghdad, Muscat and Qatar had also been halted. Routes to China remained available.

Iran’s aviation sector has faced US sanctions for years, and it remained unclear how many countries would comply with the latest measures. Despite the sanctions taking effect on Wednesday, a Mahan Air flight from Tehran landed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Sources

• Reuters, “Iran threatens to paralyse airports in neighbouring countries if they stop Iranian flights” (2026-09-23) — https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-threatens-paralyse-airports-neighbouring-countries-if-they-stop-iranian-2026-09-23/
• The Times of Israel / Agencies, “Iran threatens neighbors’ airports if they cooperate with US flight sanctions” (2026-09-23) — https://qoshe.com/the-times-of-israel/agencies/iran-threatens-neighbors-airports-if-they-cooperate-with-us-flight-sanctions/189228426