United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said that Iranian airlines would have trouble functioning globally in 48 hours.
According to Bessent, Iranian airlines will be shut down by the threat of secondary sanctions on air services providers.
On September 23, “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world,” Bessent told CNBC in an interview.
“If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system,” Bessent added.
Earlier this month, the United States imposed sanctions on “all remaining Iranian airlines” that had yet to face such penalties. The Treasury Department also took aim at targets for supporting Iran’s aviation sector, including firms based outside Iran.
The remark came as Iran and the US exchanged new threats, although President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly.
Trump’s 3 Options On Iran
Trump told Fox News that he is in a “deciding mode” and that “very big things” could happen soon. “My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They better behave,” he said.
Trump laid out three possible paths for Iran: make a deal, letting them rot economically, wiping the regime out entirely.
Iran’s central military command said Sunday it had received information suggesting the United States, with support from regional partners, could be preparing new military action against Iran. The military command warned that any new attack would trigger sustained strikes on US bases and interests across the region.
Meanwhile, the recent escalation in conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has opened a new front amid the ongoing US-Iran war and further threatened trade routes.