US to shut down all Iranian airlines worldwide from September 23

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that new American sanctions will effectively shut down all Iranian airlines worldwide starting September 23 by threatening foreign service providers with exclusion from the U.S. dollar financial system. The announcement, made during a CNBC interview on September 21, represents a significant escalation in the ongoing U.S. economic pressure campaign against Iran amid a war that began in late February. Bessent stated that any foreign airport, fuel supplier, or ticketing company providing services to an Iranian airline would be "knocked out of the dollar system." He warned, "If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets." The sanctions build upon measures taken earlier in September, when the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 27 Iranian airlines. The new action targets the global network of support services that allow those carriers to operate internationally. Bessent indicated the measures are being implemented under authorities granted to the president following the September 11, 2001, attacks. The impact was already being felt ahead of the September 23 deadline.