Washington’s latest sanctions offensive could effectively isolate Iran’s commercial aviation sector, with foreign airports, fuel suppliers and ticket agents warned that servicing Iranian carriers could cost them access to the US financial system.
Iranian airlines face the prospect of being effectively pushed out of international aviation from Wednesday, September 23, as the United States prepares to enforce sweeping sanctions against companies and airports providing services to Iranian carriers.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world” from September 23, describing an effort to prevent Iranian aircraft from obtaining the basic services required to operate internationally, according to Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/9/21/us-threatens-to-ground-iranian-airlines-worldwide-from-wednesday
The mechanism, however, is important. Washington is not issuing an international aviation order formally grounding Iranian aircraft. Instead, it is using sanctions and the threat of secondary consequences against foreign companies that continue providing services to sanctioned Iranian carriers.
Bessent warned that airports and aviation companies servicing Iranian aircraft could lose access to the US dollar financial system. The restrictions potentially affect critical services including refuelling, airport and ground-handling assistance and ticket sales, according to The National: https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/aviation/2026/09/21/will-potential-us-secondary-sanctions-affect-iranian-and-global-aviation/
The September 23 deadline follows a major escalation by the US Treasury on September 8. Under what Washington calls Operation Economic Outcast, the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 36 aviation-related targets, including 27 active Iranian airlines not previously covered by the measures. The Treasury said the action targeted networks allegedly used to transport weapons, personnel and sensitive equipment.
The details of the sanctions are available directly from the US Treasury Department: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0623
At the same time, OFAC suspended previous aviation authorisations and introduced General License DD, allowing certain previously authorised transactions to be wound down only until 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 23. The relevant measures are published by OFAC: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260908
The impact is already becoming visible. Mahan Air has suspended services connecting Tehran with Istanbul, Ankara and Muscat, according to notices reported by the Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/a65f3f5d-e8ec-44b1-8529-24651e6254c3
Iranian authorities, however, dispute the suggestion that September 23 automatically means the disappearance of Iranian aircraft from international skies. Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization has maintained that Iranian carriers can continue international operations despite the mounting restrictions.
The decisive question will therefore come on September 23: how extensively airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling companies, banks and ticketing services outside Iran comply with Washington’s sanctions pressure.
If compliance is widespread, Iran could find much of its civilian aviation sector effectively isolated from the international system — even without a formal worldwide order grounding Iranian aircraft.
Photo/illustration: AI-generated.