US Targets 37 Iran Aviation Entities in 'Operation Economic Outcast' Sanctions Campaign
Why It MattersSecondary-sanctions exposure now reaches any foreign airline, handler or service provider with Iranian links, pushing operators to choose between the US dollar system and Iran-bound traffic.
The United States launched Operation Economic Outcast on 24 August, a sanctions campaign aimed at severing Iran's economic connections with the outside world. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the operation, which targets five sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. The measures broaden secondary-sanctions risk for anyone continuing to do business with Iran, and Bessent said any entity facilitating money laundering on Iran's behalf would be removed from the U.S. dollar system. President Donald Trump described the campaign as an "Economic D-Day".
Washington sanctioned 37 aviation-related targets, including 27 Iranian airlines and other foreign service providers, and warned of consequences for third countries doing business with Iran after 23 September. The U.S. argues that Iranian airlines, particularly the privately owned Mahan Air, have been used to transport military personnel and weapons and to support Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps networks.
Several Gulf states, including the UAE and Oman, suspended aviation operations with Iran, as did Georgia, Azerbaijan and Baghdad. China, Russia and Turkey kept their air links. Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that countries preventing Iranian aircraft from operating could face similar restrictions on their own flights, though Iran later said it would pursue non-military measures and negotiations. Iraq then permitted 40 daily flights to Najaf for pilgrims. Daily flights from Tehran have been cut roughly in half, from 80–90 to 41 per day.
