Move builds on this month’s blacklisting of 27 Iranian airlines accused of aiding weapons transport for Tehran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that Iranian airlines will effectively be locked out of international aviation from Wednesday, as the Trump administration escalates its sanctions campaign against Tehran amid the ongoing war between the two countries.
Speaking to CNBC, Bessent said all Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world starting September 23. The warning targets not only the airlines themselves but also the airports, fuel suppliers, ticketing companies and other businesses that support their operations abroad.
Bessent said any company that fuels or services Iranian aircraft, or sells tickets for them, risks being cut off from the US dollar financial system. The threat relies on secondary sanctions, which penalize foreign firms — not just Iranian entities — for continuing to do business with blacklisted carriers.
Broader sanctions push
The warning follows an earlier move this month in which the US imposed sanctions on all remaining Iranian airlines that had not already been targeted, along with foreign companies accused of supporting Iran’s aviation sector. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control listed 27 Iranian airlines on September 8, accusing them of helping the Iranian regime procure and transport weapons and ferry personnel.
Officials say the sanctions could extend to airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling companies, ticketing agents and financial institutions dealing with Iranian carriers.
Bessent has previously described the campaign as an “economic D-Day” against Tehran, vowing to choke off the country financially. His latest comments came a day after he met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for economic talks ahead of President Trump’s planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this Thursday — a notable timing given China‘s role as one of Iran’s top economic partners and diplomatic backers.
Context: a country already at war
The United States and Iran have been at war since late February, when US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and senior military officials at the outset of a broad offensive. Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy transit corridor, sending global oil prices higher as the conflict widened across the Middle East.
The aviation crackdown is being carried out under what officials have called Operation Economic Fury, as the war enters its seventh month.
An already-battered fleet
Iran’s civil aviation sector has been under strain for years. Decades of US sanctions have already made it difficult for Iranian carriers to buy new aircraft or obtain spare parts and maintenance services. Iranian officials had not issued a public response to the planned restrictions as of Monday.
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