Iran cancels Baghdad, Muscat flights as US aviation sanctions take effect
Authorities in Iran have announced the cancellation of flights from Tehran to the cities of Baghdad in Iraq and Muscat in Oman as sanctions by the United States on Iranian airlines take effect.
Majid Akhavan, a spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Tuesday that airports in Baghdad and Muscat would stop accepting Iranian flights from midnight local time on Wednesday.
“For this reason, we are coordinating and consulting so that flights destined for Baghdad will be directed to Najaf airport,” Akhavan said.
Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that negotiations with Oman were likewise ongoing, adding that all remaining international flights, including those to Istanbul, will operate as scheduled.
There was no immediate comment from Iraqi and Omani authorities.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that Washington would cut Iranian airlines off from international operations starting on Wednesday by threatening secondary sanctions on companies that provide them aviation services. The move came seven months into the US and Israel’s war on Iran.
Bessent told the CNBC broadcaster that when Iranian carriers land at an airport, “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.”
The move marks the latest step in Washington’s expanding sanctions campaign against Tehran. Aviation analysts told Al Jazeera that although the US lacks authority to close foreign airspace, targeting local refuelling and ground-handling providers achieves a similar outcome by cutting off essential operational support.
Earlier this month, the US issued stricter measures administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), placing restrictions on trade, energy and financial institutions.
The administration of US President Donald Trump also expanded secondary sanctions in late August, warning that foreign firms doing business with Iran across shipping, technology, gold and digital assets face penalties of their own.
Tehran, however, signalled on Saturday that it remains open to talks mediated by Qatar to reach a long-term resolution, while maintaining a combative stance towards Washington.
“It is in Washington’s interest to accept these conditions,” Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s security chief, told Al Jazeera in an interview last week. “Trump’s threats will not achieve any results. We are prepared for a decisive war.”
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