Tehran Airport: Flights to China, Vietnam and Malaysia Continue Without Cancellations Despite U.S. Sanctions

Ramin Kashefazar, chief executive of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, told Iran’s Fars news agency that flights to East Asia — including China, Vietnam and Malaysia — are being operated without cancellations. The statement comes at the height of the American campaign to isolate Iranian civil aviation from the global network.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector, targeting airlines and dozens of companies that support them, with the stated aim of cutting Tehran’s air links with the world entirely. The measure is part of what the Trump administration calls an “economic D-Day” against Tehran, as Al Jazeera reported in its live coverage of the crisis.

In practice, the sanctions have already caused widespread cancellations: Iranian flights to the United Arab Emirates have been cancelled, while airports in Iraq, Oman, Azerbaijan and Turkey have suspended ties with Iranian carriers. Kashefazar’s statement suggests Tehran is trying to keep at least the eastern corridor open, where trade links with China remain vital for Iran’s economy.

Meanwhile, Iraq has announced it is asking Washington for an exemption from the sanctions so it can receive Iranian airlines, arguing that civilian flights affect the populations of both countries. Iranian officials have previously threatened to retaliate against neighboring countries that enforce the American flight ban.