New Delhi: Iranian airlines have lost access to several regional airports after a new round of US sanctions targeted the country’s aviation sector, turning ordinary flight operations into another front in the US-Iran conflict.
The UAE suspended flights operated by Iranian airlines to and from the country on Thursday, while Iran-linked flights have also been halted or disrupted in Oman, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The restrictions came after the US warned foreign companies and airports that continue providing services to Iranian carriers could face sanctions of their own.
The measures have left Iranian travellers with fewer international connections and raised concerns that the dispute could spread to the wider aviation industry in the Gulf.
Why are Iranian airlines being targeted?
The US has been trying to isolate Iran economically as its war with Tehran continues. Washington has accused some Iranian airlines, including Mahan Air, of supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and facilitating the movement of personnel and equipment.
Earlier this month, the US expanded sanctions to cover 27 Iranian airlines and warned companies providing services to them that they could also face penalties. Those services can include refuelling aircraft, providing ground handling, selling tickets or allowing planes to land.
This is where the restrictions become more complicated.
The US cannot directly order the UAE, Oman or another sovereign country to close its airports to Iranian aircraft. But it can threaten companies in those countries with restrictions on access to the US financial system if they continue doing business with sanctioned Iranian carriers.
For an airport operator, fuel supplier or aviation-services company with international business, that can make servicing an Iranian aircraft a costly decision.
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Why are neighbouring countries stopping the flights?
For Gulf states, the issue is partly about avoiding US sanctions and partly about managing security risks.
The UAE, for example, said its suspension of Iranian airline flights was based on the new US sanctions. Oman has also halted Mahan Air operations after discussions with Washington. Turkey earlier this month revoked the operating licence of Iran’s Bank Mellat in Istanbul amid growing US pressure on countries dealing with Tehran.
But the restrictions also come after months of military escalation in the region.
During the early stages of the war, Iranian missiles and drones were launched towards several Gulf states, prompting countries including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia to temporarily restrict their airspace. Some airports were also affected by missile or drone activity.
That has left airlines operating in a difficult environment: they must balance commercial routes with sanctions compliance and the risk that airspace could suddenly become unsafe.
Why is Iran threatening neighbouring airports?
Iran has reacted angrily to the restrictions.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned neighbouring countries that cooperate with the US measures that their airports could face retaliation. He did not specify whether such retaliation would be diplomatic, economic or military.
The threat is significant because Tehran is portraying the aviation restrictions as part of Washington’s wider effort to isolate Iran, rather than simply as commercial decisions by individual countries.
Iran, however, cannot legally dictate whether another country accepts its aircraft. Its ability to disrupt neighbouring aviation would depend on what measures it chose to take, and how far the conflict escalated.
What does this mean for passengers?
The immediate impact is being felt by Iranian passengers.
International flight capacity from Iran was already about 49 percent lower in August than a year earlier, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. The latest restrictions could further reduce the number of direct international connections, pushing travellers towards flights through countries that continue to accept Iranian carriers or towards land crossings.
The disruption can also spread beyond Iran. Airlines flying through the Gulf may have to reroute aircraft, alter schedules or cancel services when airspace becomes unsafe.
For now, some Iranian connections remain open, particularly to countries such as Turkey and China, although individual flights have also been cancelled.
The bigger issue is that civilian aviation has become another pressure point in the US-Iran confrontation. What began as sanctions on Iranian airlines is now affecting airports, fuel suppliers, ground handlers and passengers across several countries.