US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on September 21 that secondary sanctions would effectively ground all Iranian airlines globally starting September 23, giving foreign airports, fuel providers, and ticket sellers roughly 48 hours to cut ties with these carriers. Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Oman, and Turkey quickly responded by canceling flights or banning Mahan Air, Iran Air, and Qeshm Air from their airspace. This campaign, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast by the Trump administration, follows sanctions targeting all 27 remaining Iranian airlines on September 8. For countries like Iraq or Oman, whose banking systems depend on dollar-denominated transactions, the threat of secondary sanctions represents an existential risk.
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