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Flight monitoring data from Flightradar24 indicates that US aviation sanctions have cut Iran’s international flights by about half in a week. Almost all of Iran’s international flights over the past month have been operated by Iranian airlines, with foreign carriers having mostly stopped serving the country.

The latest restrictions go beyond Iranian airlines themselves. Airports, fuel suppliers, ground handlers, ticket sellers and other companies providing services to sanctioned carriers may face U.S. sanctions, prompting third-country companies to stop handling Iranian flights.

Iran-operated flights to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Georgia and Azerbaijan have been suspended or heavily restricted, while Iranian carriers remain barred from Iraqi airports despite a limited resumption of services by Iraq’s national airline. Flights to China and Russia continue, while services to several other destinations, including Turkey and Afghanistan, remain available.

For passengers trying to reach countries no longer served directly, this increasingly means passing through cities like Istanbul, Islamabad, Kabul, Beijing, Dushanbe, Yerevan or Moscow before continuing to their destination.

Detours can add hours or even days to journeys and significantly increase costs.

Turkey has become one of the most important gateways. Iran Air flights between Tehran and Istanbul were still operational on Monday, according to flight tracking data, although Mahan Air has already suspended its services with Turkey and Turkish Airlines has no flights with Iran scheduled until March 2027.

Turkey Today reported on Monday, citing two sources, that remaining Iranian flights to Turkey are expected to be suspended in early October. No formal announcement of a full suspension has yet been made.

Longer routes, higher costs

Mahan, a 42-year-old Iranian who has lived and worked in the United Arab Emirates for years and regularly travels to Tehran to visit her elderly mother, said her latest trip back to Dubai showed how quickly restrictions were changing ordinary travel.

With direct options unavailable, she flew from Iran to Armenia on Sunday, spent the night in a hotel in Yerevan and continued to Dubai the next day.

Including hotel and transportation in Armenia, she said the trip cost nearly three times what she previously paid to travel between Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

The trip was also more stressful, she said, because the hotel booked for her was a long way from the airport.

Other passengers she encountered had taken an even more difficult route. They told him they had traveled overland from Iran to the Armenian border, then traveled about 400 kilometers by bus to Yerevan.

They described carrying luggage through busy border areas and struggling to find transportation for the long journey from the crossing point to the Armenian capital.

Najaf becomes a test

Iraq has become one of the clearest examples of the complications created by Washington’s air pressure due to the volume of religious and family travel between the two countries.

Baghdad Airport stopped accepting flights operated by Iranian airlines on September 22. Iranian aviation authorities initially sought to reroute some Baghdad-bound services to Najaf, one of Shiite Islam’s most important pilgrimage centers.

Najaf Airport then suspended all flights to and from Iran on September 25, cutting off the alternative route and affecting large numbers of Iranian pilgrims traveling to Najaf and nearby Karbala.

The Iraqi government then began direct negotiations with Washington to obtain exemptions from the US Treasury’s measures. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s office said it was seeking exemptions allowing travel for medical, educational, religious and other civil purposes.

Reuters reported Monday that the Trump administration was preparing a one-month waiver allowing Iraqi Airways to transport Shiite pilgrims between Najaf and Iran, with a more permanent exemption possibly following. The proposed exemption applies specifically to the Iraqi national carrier.

The official Iraqi news agency later reported that Iraqi Airways had resumed flights between Najaf and Iranian airports.

Iran, however, disputed reports that Iran-Najaf flights had largely resumed. Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Majid Akhavan said Tehran had not received any official communication authorizing a resumption and Iranian airlines were still unable to restart the route.

The two stories refer to different operators: the Iraqi announcement concerned Iraqi Airways, while the Iranian statement concerned the ability of Iranian carriers to return to Najaf. Iraqi media also reported Monday that the ban on Iranian airlines remained in effect even if Iraqi Airways resumed flights to Iranian airports.

The distinction gives Baghdad a way to restore at least some pilgrimage traffic without immediately reopening its airports to sanctioned Iranian carriers.

These disruptions had already created political pressure in Iraq. Protests were held in Baghdad and Najaf against the suspension, while Iranian officials warned that restrictions on air links could affect broader relations between the two neighbors.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee, highlighted Iraq’s dependence on Iranian electricity and gas and warned that policies hampering bilateral relations could have consequences in other areas.

Iranian website Rouydad24 described the air conflict as a test for relations between Tehran and Baghdad, highlighting Iran’s role in supplying energy to Iraq and its past support in the fight against Islamic State.

Tehran warns its neighbors

The air restrictions have also led to increasingly harsh warnings from Iranian politicians about governments cooperating with Washington.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned countries in the region last week that if Iranian planes are prevented from flying, airports at other airports in the region may also not be able to operate.

The Council Secretariat then sought to distance itself from interpretations that Iran was threatening military attacks on regional airports, saying military retaliation against flight restrictions was not on the agenda.

Mohammad Mokhber, advisor to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, nevertheless issued a separate warning on Friday.

“Alignment with America in implementing hostile policies will remain in the memory of the Iranian people,” Mokhber wrote on X.

“Flights in the region are either free for everyone or for no one,” he added. “If Iran cannot fly or benefit from airport services, no country in the region will have this possibility either. »

The remarks drew support from some radical social media users, including calls for Tehran to impose a no-fly zone over the Persian Gulf or threaten airlines flying to neighboring countries.

Others have criticized this approach. Amir Abbasi, an X user, compared the aerial warnings to previous Iranian threats to prevent other countries from exporting oil if Tehran was unable to do so.

“These threats may have national utility, but a crisis cannot be resolved with slogans,” he wrote.