Iran Says Foreign Flights Continue as Iraq Suspends Iranian Flights to Baghdad Over US Sanctions Threat

Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation said foreign flights operated by Iranian airlines will continue as scheduled from the beginning of October, with a spokesperson telling ISNA that no foreign flights had been cancelled so far and all were operating according to published schedules. The statement followed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's warning on Monday that Iranian airlines could be shut out of international travel from Wednesday, with Washington threatening secondary sanctions against foreign companies that continue servicing Iranian carriers. Iran's aviation authority said no instructions had been issued to halt foreign flights and that passengers would be informed in advance of any changes. Separately, Iraq suspended Iranian flights to Baghdad after the US sanctions threat, according to The Jerusalem Post and The Times of India, a move that appears to target airport service providers. The episode is the latest escalation in Washington's pressure campaign on Tehran, using secondary sanctions to deter third-country firms from doing business with Iranian carriers. The divergence between Iran's insistence that schedules remain intact and Iraq's suspension of flights to Baghdad underscores how quickly foreign operators and governments are adjusting to the threat.

Global Impact

Geopolitically, the US is testing whether secondary sanctions can sever Iranian civil aviation from international networks without direct military action, raising the stakes for third-country carriers and airports. Economically, foreign service providers to Iranian airlines face a compliance choice between US market access and Iranian contracts, which could raise costs and reduce routes for Iranian passengers.