Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ordered a total worldwide shutdown of Iranian commercial airlines starting September 23. The U.S. imposed secondary sanctions that threaten to remove any airport or company providing fuel, landing services, or ticket sales to Iranian carriers from the U.S. dollar system. Iraq, Turkey, Oman, Azerbaijan, Qatar, and Georgia have already restricted or banned these flights, and Turkish Airlines suspended all services to Iran until at least March 2027.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned neighboring countries that their own air traffic would be halted if they cooperated with the U.S. to stop Iranian flights. While Tehran faces restrictions in the Middle East and Caucasus, China has rejected the sanctions as illegal and continues to accept Iranian aircraft, including a Mahan Air flight that landed in Guangzhou on Wednesday.