ERBIL () — Iranian state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported on Tuesday that Baghdad International Airport in Iraq and Muscat International Airport in Oman will stop receiving flights originating from Iran, effective tonight.
Tasnim said the decision has led to the cancellation of scheduled flights operated by Iranian airlines from Tehran to Baghdad and Muscat.
The report follows information obtained by from a senior source at Iraq’s Ministry of Transport and Baghdad International Airport, who said Iraq had decided to ban Iranian aircraft from operating flights in the country starting at midnight on Tuesday due to US Treasury sanctions against Iranian airlines.
The source, however, did not indicate that flights to and from Erbil International Airport had been suspended. A source at Erbil International Airport separately told that no decision had so far been received to suspend flights between Erbil and Iran.
The developments come after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Monday that Iranian airlines could effectively be shut out of international operations from Wednesday, September 23.
“On September 23, all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world,” Bessent told CNBC.
Bessent warned that airports and companies providing services to Iranian carriers could face US sanctions, potentially preventing them from providing fuel, landing services or ticketing without risking access to the US dollar financial system.
The warning followed a September 8 US Treasury decision targeting the remaining Iranian airlines that had not previously been sanctioned. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 36 targets linked to Iran’s aviation sector, including 27 Iranian airlines and foreign companies and intermediaries accused of supporting them.
The Treasury said the sanctions also target entities outside Iran involved in aircraft transfers, cargo services, sales-agent support and the procurement of US-origin aircraft and aviation technology.
The measures are part of the Trump administration’s broader “Operation Economic Outcast,” which Bessent announced in August as a campaign to further restrict Iran’s access to international financial networks and revenue sources.
Iranian airlines have faced extensive US sanctions for years, restricting their access to aircraft, spare parts, technology and maintenance services.
