Shafaq News- Tehran
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, said on Friday that no country in the region would be able to operate flights if Iran is denied air travel and airport services, in response to US sanctions on the Iranian aviation sector.
"Either flights are free for everyone in the region, or for no one," Mokhber said, describing this as Iran's strategy on the issue.
همسویی با آمریکا در اجرای سیاستهای خصمانه در خاطر ملت ایران ماندگار خواهد بود، هر چند راهبرد ما در این مورد مشخص است: پرواز در منطقه یا برای همه آزاد است، یا برای هیچکس. اگر ایران امکان پرواز و دریافت خدمات فرودگاهی نداشته باشد، هیچ کشوری در منطقه هم این امکان را نخواهد داشت.
— محمد مخبر (@MokhberOfficial) September 25, 2026
The warning followed tighter US sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector. The Treasury Department sanctioned 27 Iranian airlines on Sept. 8 and warned foreign airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling companies and other service providers that dealings with sanctioned carriers could expose them to secondary sanctions.
The measures have sharply reduced Iran’s international air connections. The UAE and Oman suspended flights operated by Iranian airlines, while Georgia and Azerbaijan also halted Iranian services. Turkmenistan denied overflight permission to an Iranian flight from Tehran to Dushanbe on Thursday, forcing it to return before the airline rerouted the service.
International travel options for Iranians have also narrowed. Turkish Airlines has no Iran flights scheduled before March 2027, while several other foreign carriers have suspended services. Beyond a dwindling handful of restricted flights to destinations like Shanghai, Iranian aviation is effectively grounded on the world stage. Domestic flag carriers like Iran Air and Mahan Air now find themselves largely locked out of foreign skies, not just by official decree, but by the practical reality that no neighbor can afford the financial ruin of selling them fuel.
Air travel between Iraq and Iran has also come to a standstill. Ground-handling companies stopped servicing Iraq-Iran flights at airports nationwide over concerns about US Treasury penalties, prompting airlines operating the routes to suspend services, a source at Iraq’s Transport Ministry told Shafaq News.
Najaf International Airport, the last Iraqi airport handling connections with Iran, halted them from 2 a.m. on Friday until further notice, according to an airport circular. Kirkuk International Airport confirmed it had no Iran-bound services, while Erbil and Al-Sulaymaniyah airports in the Kurdistan Region suspended their routes on Friday.