US Treasury Secretary Questions How Iran's UN Delegation Will Return Home After Aviation Sanctions Take Effect
Why It MattersThe sanctions campaign against Iran's carriers illustrates how targeted aviation restrictions can rapidly curtail a state's international flight access and force reliance on unsanctioned, non-scheduled operators.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly questioned on Wednesday how Iran's delegation attending the UN General Assembly in New York would return home, as sweeping US aviation sanctions on Iran took full effect. "I'm not sure how the Iranian representatives at the UN are going to get home," Bessent told Fox News, claiming the measures had already shut down more than 80 to 90 percent of Iran's external flights and adding, "We are squeezing the Iranians like they've never seen."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his delegation arrived in New York on Tuesday for a five-day visit and are scheduled to return to Tehran on Saturday. Washington sanctioned Iran's remaining active airlines on September 8 under "Operation Economic Outcast," targeting 27 carriers, and a wind-down period expired on September 23, raising pressure on airports and service providers to cease operations with Iranian carriers.
Disruption to Iran's air links is real, though the country has not been completely cut off. Flights to Azerbaijan were suspended, and Iranian authorities said services to Baghdad and Muscat had been cancelled. Turkish Airlines halted its flights to Iran until at least March 2027, while flight-tracking data cited by Bloomberg showed at least six departures from Iran after the deadline, bound for Bangkok, Phuket, Shanghai and Kabul.
Pezeshkian did not travel to New York on a regular scheduled Iranian passenger flight. He flew aboard an Airbus A340 operated by Ashianeh, a little-known Iranian airline that does not operate scheduled passenger services or sell tickets and did not appear to be under US or European Union sanctions at the time of departure. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft stopped in Algiers, apparently to refuel, on its way to New York, and it remains unclear whether the same aircraft will carry Pezeshkian back to Tehran on Saturday or whether it will face restrictions on refuelling or ground services.
