US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned airlines and aviation businesses Monday that serving Iranian carriers could cost them access to the dollar system, as route suspensions spread across the region. Turkish Airlines has halted all flights to Iran until at least March 2027.
Bessent said the shutdown was to take effect on September 23. The immediate flight changes include services to Baghdad and Muscat, with restrictions and suspensions also reported in Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The warning extended beyond airlines. Airports, fuel suppliers, ground handlers and ticket sellers could face US penalties if they continue serving sanctioned Iranian carriers.
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“If they land, 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.”
Bessent also said, “On September 23, all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world.” His warning put the commercial cost of handling Iranian aircraft at the center of the dispute.
Baghdad and Muscat suspensions began at midnight
Iraq set a suspension of Iranian flights to Baghdad to begin at midnight on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Iranian flights from Tehran to Baghdad and Muscat were also canceled from 12 a.m. local time that day.
The closures affect two destinations served from Iran. Majid Akhavan, spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, said Baghdad and Muscat airports “will no longer accept Iranian flights.”
Akhavan said flights that had been due to land in Baghdad would instead be redirected to Najaf airport. The announcement came as the US threatened sanctions against airports that serviced Iranian carriers.
The operational picture was not uniform. Iran’s own flight cancellations and Iraq’s suspension overlapped, but the statements described actions by different authorities.
European and Gulf carriers have set different timelines
Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines suspended flights to and from Iran until at least October 24, 2026. Emirates stopped service to Tehran, while Qatar Airways tied its suspension to airspace restrictions.
Qatar Airways listed November 29 as a possible return date, subject to change. The carriers’ decisions set out different timelines rather than a common regional restart schedule.
Turkish Airlines’ pause runs longer, lasting at least until March 2027. That suspension places one of the region’s major international carriers among those that have withdrawn service to Iran, even as the US warning applies more broadly to businesses that support Iranian airlines.
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey routes were also disrupted
Iranian carriers’ flights to Georgia stopped on September 21, two days before the stated global shutdown deadline. Flights to Azerbaijan were also suspended with immediate effect.
Service between Iran and Turkey was affected as well. Mahan suspended its Turkey flights at the request of the Turkish government.
Those changes add to the Baghdad and Muscat interruptions, but the route picture varies by carrier and destination. The suspension of one airline’s service does not establish that every airline has stopped flying a route.
Iranian officials say some services remain available
Iran Air said it had “not received any notification or official instruction from the civil aviation authorities of Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, or Iraq.” The company’s statement conflicts with reports of suspensions affecting those markets.
Iranian authorities also said that other international flights, including services to Istanbul, would continue. That account sits alongside Turkish Airlines’ separate decision to suspend its own Iran flights through at least March 2027.
A travel agent in Tehran described a broader set of cancellations, saying flights to Baghdad, Muscat, Qatar, Georgia and Azerbaijan had been suspended. The agent said routes to other destinations, including China, remained available.
The statements point to a fluid operating picture rather than a uniform halt across Iran’s international network. Some carriers and routes have stopped, while officials and companies describe other services as continuing.
The US warning targets the businesses behind each flight
Bessent’s threat named the services that keep an airline operating abroad: airport access, fuel, ground handling and ticket sales. The warning signals that penalties could reach companies outside Iran, not only the carriers themselves.
The announced deadline was September 23, 2026, but Iranian airlines were still operating some international flights despite the deadline. Iran Air’s account also showed that formal instructions from individual aviation authorities remained a point of dispute.
The next listed return date among the suspensions is October 24, 2026, for Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines. Qatar Airways has named November 29 as a tentative date for resuming Iran flights, while Turkish Airlines’ suspension extends at least to March 2027.
