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It has now been almost seven months since the United States of America and Israel commenced their military attacks on Iran, prompting what has become known as the 2026 Iran Crisis. Now, more than half a year later, the US is looking to hurt Iran in a different way, by stopping its airlines from flying. According to threats made by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, this could occur as soon as tomorrow.
In recent years, as the world has sadly seen increased geopolitical instability, sanctions have become an increasingly common feature of the modern airline industry. While not such a direct form of attack as a typical military onslaught, they can go a long way to cutting a country off from the rest of the world, potentially making it more likely to compromise due to vulnerability. Let’s look at the current situation.
US Threatens To Ground All Iranian Airlines Tomorrow
Bessent made his threats while speaking to CNBC earlier this week, asserting the bold claim that “on September 23, all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world.” No flights exist between the US and Iran, so you might wonder how it would be possible for the nation to action such an objective. According to Bessent, it comes down to sanctioning countries and companies that enable such flying.
Specifically, as noted by Mig Flug, the US plans to issue secondary sanctions to foreign airports and fuel suppliers, as well as handling agents and ticketing companies, that would handle these flights. Bessent said that “if they land, 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,” and added that:
“We’ve seen enablers throughout the world. We know who they are, they know who they are, and we are putting a stop to it.”
Does The US Risk Making More Enemies Than Friends With These Moves?
In practice, these secondary sanctions would essentially prevent Iran’s airlines from operating on foreign soil. As such, while it might be an overstatement to say that they would be completely shut down, they would certainly be limited to domestic operations if the foreign countries in question submit to the US’s latest threats. In any case, its plans are not exactly winning the US any friends in certain corners.
Indeed, The Standard reported earlier today that China had spoken out in opposition to the US’s planned sanctions on Iran’s airlines, even going as far as to call the plans ‘illegal.’ On this front, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun went on to say that the sanctions “lack a basis in international law or authorisation from the UN Security Council.” Of course, the US and China have not been the best of friends.
However, recent times have seen improvement in the relationship between the two nations. Indeed, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent himself recently met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for economic talks, and, on Thursday, China’s leader Xi Jinping will attend a summit with US President Donald Trump. As such, China’s opposition to the sanctions on Iran could impact the dynamic of these talks.
Will Other Countries Submit To US Pressure?
It is one thing to plan to ground all Iranian airlines, but another for the foreign countries whose submission would be required to take these threats seriously. With this in mind, Al Jazeera notes that several nations that are key foreign markets for Iranian carriers would not be likely to bow down easily. Citing analyst Saj Ahmad, the site says that Iraq will likely seek an exemption due to its tourism links with Iran.
Elsewhere, Ahmad expects that Pakistan’s strong ties to Iran will also make it unlikely to submit to US threats, adding that Turkey would “likely resist demands to ban Iranian airlines and services because of the economic and tourism commerce that exists.” Iran itself could also close its airspace to foreign airlines as a retaliation. However, Ahmad expects that the UAE would indeed follow the US lead.
