United States treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Iranian airlines could effectively be shut out of global operations from Wednesday and threatened foreign companies providing services to Tehran’s aviation sector with secondary sanctions.
Bessent on Monday said, “on September 23, all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world”. “If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system,” Bessent said, according to Al Jazeera. Bessent said Chinese officials had been “very engaged” in discussions over the US pressure campaign, according to Al Jazeera. He also said Washington was holding positive talks with Chinese financial authorities, including People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng, on compliance with US sanctions targeting Iran.
The warning comes as the Trump administration expands its sanctions campaign aimed at restricting Iran’s access to international financial and commercial networks. Bessent’s comments came a day after talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.