Tehran, Iran - Tight US sanctions, designed to cripple Iran's aviation sector, will come into force on Wednesday. Washington has vowed to "shut down" Tehran's carriers and punish those doing business with them.
In their first acknowledgment of disruption, Iranian media reported late Tuesday that flights to the Iraqi and Omani capitals would be canceled the following day, but other routes would remain unaffected for the time being.
The new measures, announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday, follow earlier aviation sanctions as well as his threat of an "economic D-Day" meant to force the Islamic Republic into submission.
It remained unclear what their full impact would be, as the Iranian aviation sector has already been targeted for years by various sanctions.
The Tasnim news agency cited a civil aviation spokesman as saying that "Baghdad and Muscat airports will no longer accept Iranian flights" starting Wednesday.
"Other international flights, including Istanbul, will operate as scheduled and as usual, and at present there are no problems with these flights," Tasnim reported.
According to Tasnim, Iran's aviation authorities are in talks to reroute Baghdad flights to Najaf, a major destination for Iranian pilgrims.
Earlier in the day, flag carrier IranAir said it had "not received any notification or official instruction from the civil aviation authorities of Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, or Iraq."
On Monday, however, Georgia barred Iranian carriers, while the airline Mahan, a private Iranian operator, said it suspended service to Turkey at the request of its government.
Iran vowed on Tuesday to maintain international flights despite the sanctions. At the time, no international routes had been canceled.
Beijing pushed back against the sanctions, saying that it "opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law or authorization from the UN Security Council."