WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Saturday that he had sent envoys around the world to pressure countries to economically isolate Iran, hailing new restrictions targeting the country’s airlines and banks.
“At my direction, teams were dispatched across the globe to engage with countries and demand action against the Iranian regime,” he said on X. “These efforts are delivering results.”
Bessent noted that Turkey and Oman have halted incoming flights from private carrier Mahan Air, while the United Arab Emirates has stopped all flights by Iranian airlines.
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Dubai, the UAE’s commercial hub, is a major destination for Iran’s carriers, with multiple daily flights, a large Iranian community and close business links.
Iran’s ISNA news agency, citing officials, reported that five countries had revoked the Islamic republic’s flight permits: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq, Oman and the UAE.
But it said flights were still operating to China — which is refusing to yield to US pressure — and Russia via the two main airlines, national carrier Iran Air and Mahan.
Mahan had announced that it would no longer serve Turkey at the request of the Turkish authorities, but flights continue several times a day in both directions, via Iran Air or smaller Iranian carriers, according to the Tehran and Istanbul airport websites.
ISNA said Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Malaysia, Pakistan and Tajikistan were still also being served.
Bessent had said on Monday that all Iranian airlines “will be shut down around the world”.
He also highlighted new banking restrictions.
On Wednesday, the UAE central bank blocked transactions to and from Iran by branches of Iran’s Bank Melli, accusing it of violating laws on money laundering, terrorism and arms proliferation.
Last week, Turkey revoked the license of Iran’s Bank Mellat, a semi-private financial entity that has been subject to Western sanctions for years.
A Wall Street Journal article shared by Bessent said Jonathan Burke, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, traveled across the Middle East and Europe over two weeks to push the plan to impose what Bessent called “economic D-Day” on Tehran.
The US Treasury has held discussions with more than 50 countries, the Journal reported.
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