The aviation sanctions form a significant part of the Trump Administration's ”Operation Economic Outcast,” which the White House has described as “an unprecedented campaign to sever every remaining economic lifeline sustaining the Islamic Republic of Iran.” As negotiations have stalled, and with the The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and is also subject to andThe OFAC also suspended three Iran-related aviation authorizations that “allowed for overflights, and for non-U.S. airlines to fly U.S.-origin or U.S.-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.”
The sanctions, and their international reach, are intended to "intensify Iran's economic isolation, to further degrade their military capability, and push them to some kind of a concession or settlement that favors the United States,” JAviation sanctions target Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, and UAE-based firms
The U.S. Treasury has accused Iran of using front companies and other pass-through entities in third countries in an attempt to evade aviation links back to Tehran and has extended sanctions to nine internationally-based entities it alleges have aided these efforts.
Four cargo providers and general sales agents were also sanctioned, accused of servicing Mahan Air and coordinating shipments on behalf of the airline. Two are based in Turkey, one in Kazakhstan, and one in Malaysia.
The new sweeping sanctions “will exacerbate challenges that Iran already faces in maintaining its fleet,” says Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House.
With the reliance on foreign entities to maintain Iran’s aging fleet, the measures targeting companies outside of Iran will likely damage Tehran’s aviation capabilities, she says, as it will “restrict Iran's ability to rely on those regional hubs” and could prompt “international carriers [to] further Iranian services.”
“If that happens, then this becomes a blockade of Iran's aviation infrastructure, which is quite serious,” says Vakil.
U.S. issues warning to anyone doing business with Iran amid effort to choke Tehran off from global economy
The U.S. Treasury has vowed to isolate any international entity that continues to show support to Mahan Air. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned,” Bessent said. “You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system.”
In recent weeks, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on banking institutions in other countries, accusing the lenders of enabling Iran.
On. Aug. 28, the U.S. from the U.S. Treasury and will communicate with the department “to obtain further information and maintain ongoing cooperation.”
Days later, the U.S. Treasury the allegations, calling them “entirely unfounded and inconsistent.”
The charges—referred to by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “ was reached in March. Halkbank was barred from entering transactions that benefit Iran and had to hire a compliance monitor to review its sanctions and anti-money-laundering programs.
The two NATO allies have jet sales to Turkey while Ankara still holds Russian-made S-400 air defense systems.
How Iran has responded to the aviation sanctions
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Gholamhossein Darzi on Wednesday argued that Washington’s sanctions amount to “economic terrorism” and “collective punishment,” according to Iran's Tuesday. “After failing to achieve its aims through sanctions or war, Washington’s ‘novel’ solution is… more sanctions. Seriously?”
But experts say the ramped up economic pressure campaign will undoubtedly impact Iran in some way.
The aviation-related measures alone will “make it harder to transport materiel to keep Mahan Air going, and it'll contribute to regional isolation,” says Roush.