Mahan Air suspends Turkey flights after US Treasury's 'Operation Economic Outcast' sanctions package
Why It MattersWidening US sanctions on Iran's civil aviation sector could further isolate Iranian carriers from regional route networks and pressure intermediary companies linked to blocked entities.
Mahan Air, Iran's largest privately held airline, has suspended its flights to Turkey following a sweeping US sanctions package targeting Iran's civil aviation sector, according to Turkish outlets AirportHaber and Ekonomim, which reported that a formal suspension notice had been communicated to all relevant companies.
The action traces back to September 8, 2026, when the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced "Operation Economic Outcast," adding 36 targets to the sanctions list and imposing restrictions covering all of Iran's active airlines. OFAC also issued Counter Terrorism General License 37, authorizing the wind-down of transactions involving persons blocked on September 8, and suspended General License J-1, which had allowed the temporary reexport of certain civil aircraft to Iran, replacing it with General License DD to wind down previously permitted civil aviation transactions.
Three Turkey-registered companies were designated on OFAC's updated Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List for their links to Mahan Air, alongside additional newly designated entities based in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan.
Mahan Air has been under US sanctions since 2011, when the Treasury Department designated it for allegedly providing financial, material, and technological support to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, though the carrier continued operating international routes to destinations in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East despite those earlier restrictions.
