Iran has warned that regional air travel could be disrupted more broadly if its airlines remain blocked from flights and airport services, after fresh U.S. sanctions and new restrictions from neighbouring states tightened pressure on the country’s aviation sector. The warning comes as the UAE suspended all flights by Iranian carriers, while Oman, Iraq, Georgia and Azerbaijan have also curtailed services on routes linking Iranian airlines to regional airports.
The latest measures have sharply reduced Iran’s international connectivity and are affecting passenger traffic, pilgrimage flows and airport operations across the Middle East. Routes to Baghdad, Muscat, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah have been hit, with some services cancelled and others suspended indefinitely. Certain links to China, Russia and Turkey have continued, but Gulf-state access has been cut back significantly.
Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, framed the dispute as a reciprocal issue, warning that if Iran cannot access flights and airport services, other countries in the region should not expect to keep the same privileges. The pressure appears aimed not only at Iranian carriers but also at foreign airports and service providers that continue to handle sanctioned airlines, raising the risk of further secondary-sanctions fallout.