Iran Threatens Neighbors Over U.S. Sanctions, UAE And Iraq Halt Iranian Flights

Sanctions disrupt flights

Iran threatened neighboring countries if they chose to implement new U.S. sanctions on Iranian airlines, a warning that came as Iranian airlines reduced a number of international flights after the United States threatened airports and air service providers with secondary sanctions.

Mohammed Mokhber, the top leader’s advisor, wrote on the X platform: “Either the airspace is open to everyone or closed to everyone.”

The United Arab Emirates halted flights operated by Iranian airlines to and from the UAE, and the General Civil Aviation Authority said the decision was “based on the US sanctions imposed on Iranian airlines preventing them from using airports around the world”.

Iraq suspended Iranian flights at all four airports where they operated, with Najaf International Airport deciding to suspend “all incoming and outgoing flights to and from the Islamic Republic of Iran starting at 2:00 a.m. Friday”.

Iran’s aviation squeeze also spread to other destinations, with the UAE joining Oman, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan in restricting or suspending access for Iranian airlines amid the U.S. threat to ground Iran’s entire civil fleet worldwide.

Reporting for this sectionBawwāhat al-ShuruqAl Jazeera

Regional warnings and responses

Mohsen Rezaei warned that neighboring airports would be unable to operate if they cooperated with Washington’s campaign, echoing the threat that “If Iran cannot fly and receive airport services, no country in the region will have that possibility either.” Mohammad Mokhber repeated the same framing in a post on X, writing: “Flights in the region are either free for everyone, or for no one.” The UAE’s suspension followed the U.S. sanctions threat, and the Emirati WAM news agency carried the General Civil Aviation Authority announcement that it would suspend “all flights operated by Iranian airlines to and from the UAE.”

Turkmenistan’s refusal to allow an Iranian aircraft to pass through its airspace forced a Tehran-Dushanbe flight to return to Tehran, and Majid Akhavan said “Turkmenistan’s refusal to allow the Iranian aircraft to pass through its airspace meant the flight could not continue on its route and had to return,” Reuters reported that airports in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah suspended Iranian flights from Friday, after earlier suspensions at Baghdad and Najaf, with the suspension including Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah airports.

Reporting for this sectionIran InternationalAl Jazeera

What is at stake next

The U.S. sanctions campaign aimed to prevent Iranian commercial airlines from being used to move weapons and personnel and to pressure foreign airports and companies into severing ties with sanctioned carriers, and the Treasury said Iranian aviation networks transport weapons, military personnel and illicit cargo. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that foreign airports, fuel suppliers, ground handlers and ticket sellers servicing sanctioned carriers risked U.S. penalties, including exclusion from the dollar system, and he said: “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.” Iran’s response framed the aviation restrictions as leverage and negotiation pressure, with Rezaei warning neighboring countries against joining further U.S. military action and giving Washington “four to five days to accept conditions already sent to mediators before talks or Hormuz’s reopening.”

Travel disruption also reached family visits, business and pilgrimage to Najaf and Karbala, as agencies described travelers flying to Turkey and then taking roughly 17 hours by bus to Van and another 16–17 hours onward to Tehran, excluding border delays. Even as some routes continued, the sources described a shrinking network, with the Al Jazeera Net report saying flights to China and Najaf operate according to schedules and that transferring passengers to neighboring countries and other destinations is done through local airlines such as Qeshm Air, Tabaran, Sepahran, Varsh, and others.

Reporting for this sectionIran InternationalYnetnews