The UAE has suspended all Iranian flights to and from its airports after the US sanctioned companies serving Iran's aviation sector. The move follows similar flight halts to Oman, Azerbaijan and Baghdad this week, as Washington moves to shut down all 27 Iranian airlines globally.
UAE cuts off the Dubai route
The United Arab Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority said on Thursday it had suspended Iranian flights until further notice, citing the US ban on Iranian airlines using airports around the world. Dubai is the region's business, finance and transport hub.
Flightradar24 data showed flights between Tehran and Dubai scheduled for Thursday were cancelled or did not take off, including two Iran Airtour services and one operated by Varesh Airlines. The cessation follows the cancellation of flights to and from Oman, Azerbaijan and Baghdad this week, and it came as a flight from Iran to Tajikistan turned back in mid-air because of the US measures.
Washington moves to shut down Iranian carriers
The US this month imposed sanctions on dozens of airlines and other targets, accusing them of helping Iran move weapons and personnel, and warned that companies and individuals working with Iranian airlines risked being cut off from the global financial system. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent then said all 27 Iranian airlines would be shut down around the world from Wednesday. Iran's domestic airlines have been the country's only air links with the wider world since foreign carriers stopped flying there after the US and Israel began attacking in February.
A Varesh Airlines flight from Tehran to Dushanbe also turned around before entering Turkmenistan's airspace on Thursday, reversing course after half an hour and returning to Imam Khomeini International Airport. The same service had operated as planned two days earlier. Majid Akhavan, spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, told the Financial Times that Turkmenistan informed the airline it could not use its airspace only after the plane had already taken off.
Mahan Air, one of Iran's largest carriers, has this week suspended flights to and from Istanbul, Ankara and Muscat, and Georgia suspended commercial flights to Tbilisi. Caspian, Mahan and Sepehran airlines have not run their scheduled Tehran-to-Baghdad flights this week, though Sepehran flights in the coming days remain scheduled. Services to Istanbul operated by Iran Air, Iran Airtour and ATA were still running as planned on Thursday, and airport officials said they had received no official instructions to halt flights.
Iran warns of retaliation
The Trump administration has vowed to use economic pressure to bring about what it calls an economic D-Day for Iran, and the US has also imposed a maritime blockade on Iranian ports in an effort to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil tankers, and to reach a deal over its nuclear programme.
Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Wednesday that any country preventing Iranian flights from using its airspace or airports could face retaliation. According to the Financial Times: "If they don't allow our planes to fly, their airports cannot have any flights either."
Source: Financial Times
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