Iran has warned neighbouring countries that it will make their airports unable to function if they cooperate with a US push to ground Iranian airlines. The threat came from Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in an interview with state television on Wednesday. It was issued on the same day US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said all Iranian carriers would be effectively shut down worldwide. Washington’s plan relies on secondary sanctions rather than a direct ban on the airlines.
Airports, fuel suppliers, ground handlers and ticketing firms that serve Iranian aircraft risk being cut off from the US dollar system. Earlier this month, the US Treasury sanctioned all remaining Iranian airlines not already listed, along with foreign companies accused of supporting Iran’s aviation sector. The escalation comes seven months into the war between the United States and Iran. Years of sanctions had already left Iranian carriers struggling to buy new aircraft, spare parts and maintenance.
Bessent has said Chinese financial authorities are engaged in talks on complying with US sanctions on Iran. The warning puts Gulf states, many of which run major aviation hubs close to Iran, in a difficult position between Washington and Tehran. Any disruption at those hubs would matter to India, as millions of Indian workers and travellers pass through Gulf airports. Rezaei did not say how Iran would carry out the threat.