Iran threatens neighboring states / Iranian airlines’ flights canceled after new U.S. sanctions

Iran threatened on Wednesday to render the airports of neighboring states inoperable if they enforce U.S. sanctions and prevent Iranian airlines from operating. The warning was issued by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Tehran’s Supreme National Security Council, on the first day of the new measures adopted by Washington.

Iran’s main airlines canceled some international flights amid the threat of secondary sanctions against countries that allow them access. Mahan Air suspended flights to Turkey, while flights to Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Georgia and Azerbaijan were affected. Georgia and Oman banned flights by Iranian operators, while Baghdad airport no longer accepts Iranian aircraft.

China rejected the U.S. sanctions and allowed a Mahan Air aircraft to land. Iran Air says it has not received official notifications from Turkey, Azerbaijan or Iraq regarding a ban on flights, but it had no flights scheduled from Tehran on Wednesday.

The United States placed Iran’s entire aviation sector on its sanctions list on September 8. The measures are part of the “Economic Pariah” operation, launched on August 24, through which Washington is seeking to pressure Tehran amid the conflict and negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz.