Iran warns neighboring countries against applying US sanctions on airlines and stopping flights

Iran has threatened its neighboring countries if they choose to implement new US sanctions on Iranian airlines, which have led to restrictions on international flights to and from Iran.

The warning came at a time when Iranian airlines canceled a number of international flights, after the United States threatened airports and aviation service providers with imposing secondary sanctions on them if they dealt with Iranian airlines.

Muhammad Mokhber, advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, wrote on the X platform today, Friday (September 25, 2026): “Siding with the United States in implementing hostile policies will remain engraved in the memory of the Iranian people.”

He added: "Either the airspace will be open to everyone or closed to everyone. If Iran is deprived of its right to fly and access airport services, no country in the region will be able to do that either."

This week, several countries stopped dealing with Iranian airlines and refused to allow them to use their airspace.

Only a few Iranian airlines remain operating flights from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport to destinations including Russia, China and Turkey.

Istanbul, in particular, is an important hub for travelers moving between Iran, Europe, or the United States. Travelers there recently reported a state of uncertainty and chaos in the offices of Iranian airlines.

Mahan Air, the largest and most advanced Iranian private airline, has already been forced to suspend its flights to Türkiye.

Flights to and from Iran were suspended at the four Iraqi airports that were operating these flights, after Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports joined, today, Friday, Baghdad and Najaf, while the UAE suspended the flights of Iranian airlines, in light of American threats to impose sanctions on the parties that deal with them. Two sources told Reuters that Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports suspended Iranian flights as of Friday. According to the sources and official media, the suspension included Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports.

Al-Najaf International Airport had announced, in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, the cessation of all flights to and from Iran from Friday until further notice, based on the directives of the competent authorities. He called on airlines and operating entities not to take any operational measures regarding included flights during the suspension period.

In the UAE, the General Civil Aviation Authority previously announced the suspension of Iranian airline flights to and from the country, starting from Thursday and until further notice. She said that the decision was based on the US ban imposed on Iranian airlines from using airports in various countries of the world, and that she would inform the relevant authorities and the public of developments.

Washington announced that it will impose sanctions on any companies around the world that deal with Iranian airlines after September 23, with the aim of stopping the Iranian civil aviation fleet worldwide.

For his part, the advisor and assistant to the Iranian guide, Muhammad Mokhber, threatened the countries that suspended the flights of Iranian airlines, saying that “flight in the region will either be available to everyone, or it will not be available to anyone.” An informant wrote today, Friday, through his account on the “X” platform: “If Iran is unable to operate flights and obtain airport service, then no country in the region will be able to do so either.”

In an interview on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent threatened to exclude countries from the US dollar system if they supplied Iranian airlines with fuel, provided them with landing services at their airports, or sold tickets on their behalf. This came after the imposition of comprehensive US sanctions on the Iranian aviation sector two weeks ago, as part of Washington’s pressure on Tehran to end the war launched by the United States and Israel in late February.

The repercussions of these pressures extended to crossing airspace. Iranian media reported, on Thursday, that a passenger plane heading from Tehran to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, was forced to return midway through its journey after Turkmenistan refused to grant it transit permission.

According to the German News Agency, it is no longer possible to organize flights from Tehran to the Emirates, Baghdad and Muscat due to the recent punitive measures. On the other hand, flights between Istanbul and Tehran continued, despite travelers talking about uncertainty and chaos at check-in desks, and some airlines continued to operate flights to China, Iran's most important trading partner.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiaqun rejected the US measures, describing them as illegal unilateral sanctions, based neither on international law nor a Security Council mandate.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan intend to hold an urgent high-level meeting within the framework of a joint defense agreement to discuss ways to support the Kingdom in light of the attacks launched by the Houthis on it, while Tehran sought to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.

The Houthis launched attacks on the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and repeatedly fired into the kingdom's territory, disrupting the flow of oil from the world's largest energy exporter, as part of the expanding war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

The Houthis said that they fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets yesterday, Thursday, while authorities in Saudi Arabia reported that they intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia had previously issued warnings to areas including Mecca and Jeddah, as well as Yanbu, the main Saudi oil port on the Red Sea.

A call for "jihad"

The highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia called on the forces to prepare to exert themselves and confront the Houthi group, according to a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency. The rare statement issued by the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan, was full of Quranic verses and hadiths urging unity and jihad.

Mecca Alliance denounces

Amid the exchange of attacks, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey held a meeting “within the framework of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” and condemned the attacks that targeted Mecca and other civilian sites, and affirmed, according to the statement, Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself. The statement added, "The meeting touched on the ongoing arrangements to hold an urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff in the three countries, with the aim of discussing ways to support the Kingdom in accordance with the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, and what it stipulates that any attack on any party is considered an attack on all parties."

The announcement of the meeting came shortly after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought, in an interview with an American television channel yesterday, Thursday, to confirm that Iran has nothing to do with what the Houthis are doing.

"The Houthis are responsible for their actions," Pezeshkian told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" program, a day after his speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Pezeshkian's interview and speech came amid a cessation of fighting between the United States and Iran and a short diplomatic attempt in New York, where Qatar played the role of mediator between the two parties.

New proposal awaiting response

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters yesterday, Thursday, that Tehran had conveyed a proposal to the United States through mediators, according to which the Strait of Hormuz could be opened if conditions set by Tehran were met. The Iranian proposal includes stopping hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, within seven days, while the United States will lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian funds, and lift sanctions imposed on oil.

Araqchi stated that "the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened on the last day," adding that talks with the United States on other issues, including the Iranian nuclear issue, will begin after that. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran is studying Washington's response to its proposals to stop the war.

The war, which US President Donald Trump started in cooperation with Israel in February, resulted in thousands of deaths and caused disruption to global energy supplies, leading to higher oil prices.

While direct fighting between the United States and Iran has largely declined, Iran's allies in the region have not, as tensions continue between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon and the Houthis advance in Yemen.

Increasing pressures

Iran and its allies are exerting great pressure on Saudi oil exports, as the Houthis obstruct maritime traffic at the entrance to the Red Sea, while Iran has severely restricted the movement of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil exports passed before the war. An attack by Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups temporarily disrupted the Saudi East-West pipeline.

There are discussions among security experts about the extent of Iran's direct influence on the Houthis, a Shiite group that has evolved from a local rebel movement into a powerful armed group that controls most of northern Yemen.

Yemeni governmental, Iranian and regional sources reported that the Houthi advance along the Yemeni coast on the Red Sea was carried out under the direct guidance of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

With the war against Iran largely deadlocked after months-long battles, Washington announced a change in tactics to expand the scope of its financial sanctions by targeting companies affiliated with third countries that do business with Iranian companies, a practice known as “secondary sanctions.”

Iranian airlines were banned yesterday, Thursday, from entering neighboring countries, including the UAE and Oman, after new US sanctions, in the first major impact of a change in US policy targeting companies in third countries that deal with Iran. If the flight ban continues, it may deepen Iran's isolation and exacerbate the economic crisis in the country, which is already facing a US blockade of its sea ports.

The Saudi-led military coalition supporting the government in Yemen announced that its forces intercepted on Thursday (September 24, 2026) six ballistic missiles launched by the Iran-backed Houthis, saying it had thwarted attacks on the Saudi cities of Taif and Yanbu.

Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said in a series of posts on the X platform, “The escalation and violations of the terrorist Houthi militia will be dealt with firmly.”

Earlier today, in publications on the

The Houthis announce that they targeted "Saudi concentrations" and "sensitive targets"

For its part, the Houthi group announced the implementation of a large-scale military operation targeting "Saudi concentrations" in the Tuwal area in Jizan, with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.

Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a statement today, "The operation targeted the operations, command and control rooms, weapons stores and other sites, in addition to missile launch sites and platforms in the Al-Dagharir camp in Jizan."

He added that the operation also included a number of "Saudi enemy" camps in the region, noting that the attacks "were precise and direct." He claimed that the operation "resulted in the killing and wounding of hundreds of members of the Saudi enemy's mobilizations," in addition to "dozens of Saudi enemy personnel and officers." He also said that it "led to the destruction and burning of a number of weapons depots." Saudi Arabia did not confirm this.

In another statement, the Houthi group said that it launched attacks with missiles and drones targeting what it described as a “sensitive target” in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in addition to facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco in the city of Yanbu overlooking the Red Sea.

There has been no Saudi confirmation yet regarding an attack on Riyadh or recording damage or injuries in both Taif and Yanbu.

The spokesman stressed that his group would continue to "respond to sources of threat, respond to any aggression, and target all hostile movements wherever they may be," and impose what he described as the equation of "siege with siege and escalation with escalation until the Saudi aggression stops and the siege is ended."