Bessent: All Iranian Airlines Will Be Shut Down Worldwide Within Two Days — Iran Air Defies Threat, Continues Flights to Najaf

The United States has escalated its economic campaign against Iran with a new threat aimed at Iranian civil aviation: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that “all Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world” within two days as a result of U.S. sanctions.

In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said that any company or airport that continues to serve Iranian airlines will be cut off from the dollar financial system. “You can’t sell them fuel, you can’t give them ground services, you can’t sell them tickets — otherwise you will be cut off from the dollar system,” he said, addressing countries that still receive Iranian flights.

The warning follows the package of sanctions the U.S. announced on September 8 against Iran’s aviation industry, aimed at “grounding” the 27 Iranian airlines that still operate internationally. Washington has launched the “Economic Outcast” operation to isolate Tehran from the global financial system.

Iran’s response was not long in coming: the state airline Iran Air announced that its flights to Najaf in Iraq — from Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan — will continue on the regular schedule, despite the threat of secondary sanctions.

Bessent also said that China is “very engaged” in the U.S. campaign of economic pressure on Iran, citing positive talks with Chinese financial authorities, including officials of the People’s Bank of China. Beijing, for its part, has said it will continue to work with its ally.

Source: Al Jazeera