Iran cancels Baghdad, Muscat flights ahead of US sanctions — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Iran cancelled flights to Baghdad and Muscat starting at midnight ahead of new US sanctions taking effect Wednesday, per Tasnim News Agency.
- Iran's Civil Aviation Organization is negotiating with Iraq to redirect Baghdad-bound flights to Najaf Airport, while negotiations with Oman continue and other international routes including Istanbul operate as scheduled, per ISNA.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said all Iranian airlines would be shut down September 23 through secondary sanctions on aviation service providers, warning that anyone selling fuel, landing services, or tickets to Iranian carriers risks being "knocked out of the dollar system."
- Aviation analysts told Al Jazeera the US lacks authority to close foreign airspace but achieves the same outcome by targeting refuelling and ground-handling providers that Iranian carriers depend on.
- The US expanded secondary sanctions in late August covering shipping, technology, gold, and digital assets, on top of OFAC restrictions earlier this month on trade, energy, and financial institutions.
- Tehran signaled openness Saturday to Qatar-mediated talks toward a long-term resolution, while security chief Mohsen Rezaei told Al Jazeera "Trump's threats will not achieve any results" and Iran is "prepared for a decisive war."
Why it matters: Bessent's dollar-system threat turns every foreign airport into a pressure point, effectively grounding Iranian commercial aviation without the US needing legal authority over foreign airspace — while Tehran's parallel openness to Qatar-mediated talks reveals a diplomatic off-ramp it is testing even as it threatens escalation.
Ask SkimNews
