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Iran flights to Baghdad, Muscat cancelled ahead of US aviation sanctions

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Al Jazeera Staff. (2026, September 23). Iran flights to Baghdad, Muscat cancelled ahead of US aviation sanctions. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/22/iran-flights-to-baghdad-muscat-cancelled-ahead-of-us-aviation-sanctions?traffic_source=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Al Jazeera · collected 2026-09-23 · by Al Jazeera Staff

Quick Summary

Iran has cancelled flights from its territory to Baghdad and Muscat starting at midnight due to new US sanctions taking effect on Wednesday. The US Treasury Secretary announced that Iranian airlines would face secondary sanctions if they receive fuel, landing services, or ticket sales from providers worldwide. This move targets essential operational support for Iranian carriers despite the lack of authority to close foreign airspace directly.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 21, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that starting from September 23, Iranian airlines would be unable to function globally due to American sanctions. This announcement came seven months into the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes in February that killed Iran's supreme leader and senior military officials.

The sanctions will prohibit any country or company from providing services such as fueling, landing rights, or ticket sales to Iranian airlines; violators face expulsion from the dollar system. In response, Iraq has suspended all flights by Iranian carriers starting at midnight on September 23, affecting airports in Baghdad and Najaf. Other countries like Georgia have also banned Iranian flights.

Iran's aviation industry, already under significant sanctions pressure for years, is now facing a near-complete shutdown as the conflict escalates. Tehran has warned that it might retaliate against non-compliant nations, threatening regional aviation stability if its airlines are further restricted from accessing airports globally.

Written for “US Sanctions On Iran Airlines” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US Sanctions On Iran Airlines
Politics · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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“Article A reports on the refusal of visas for Iranian delegation members to attend the UN General Assembly, while Article B discusses flight cancellations from Iran due to US aviation sanctions.”
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 23 claims Outlet record 60/100
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss US sanctions impacting Iranian airlines, they describe different actions taken by different countries (Iran cancelling flights and UAE suspending Iranian airline operations) at distinct times.”
Iran threatens widespread disruption as Iraq halts Iran flights Different event
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Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses initial cancellations by Iran, while Article B reports on Iraq halting Iranian flights after US sanctions, indicating a progression of events rather than describing the exact same moment.”
Iraq seeks US exemption from ban on Iranian flights Different event
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Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A reports on the cancellation of flights from Iran to Baghdad and Muscat ahead of US sanctions, while Article B discusses subsequent Iraqi efforts to seek exemptions for its airports from these sanctions.”
U.S. Treasury chief says Iran airlines to be ‘shut down’ on September 23 Different event
The Hindu
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A describes Treasury Secretary Bessent's warning about sanctions taking effect, while Article B reports on the cancellation of flights as a direct result of those sanctions.”
US Treasury chief says Iran airlines to be ‘shut down’ on Sept 23 Different event
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Treasury Secretary Bessent's announcement about shutting down Iranian airlines globally on Sept 23, while Article B reports on flight cancellations from Iran to Baghdad and Muscat starting at midnight ahead of the sanctions. Although related, these are separate events.”
Iraqi airports halt Iranian flights after new US aviation sanctions Different event
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe related actions in response to US sanctions but refer to different time periods and locations.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 4438 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-10-03
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2026-09-30
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Who wrote this

Al Jazeera Staff
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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Topics

3Iran Baghdad Iran UNGA Washington

Subjects

Iran GPE · 7× Washington GPE · 3× 3Iran GPE · 2× Al Jazeera ORG · 2× Baghdad GPE · 2× Iranian NORP · 2× Tehran GPE · 2× UNGA ORG · 2× Muscat GPE · 1× United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Iran president heads to UNGA, vows to highlight US ‘oppression’ - list 2 of 3Iran delegation to present narrative of resilience, diplomacy at UNGA - list 3 of 3Trump: US-Iran meeting at UN was ‘very good’ Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that negotiations with Oman were likewise ongoing, adding that all remaining international flights, including those to Istanbul, will operate as scheduled.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 Flights from Iran to Baghdad and Muscat will be cancelled starting at midnight ahead of new United States sanctions taking effect Wednesday, Tasnim News Agency reported.
2026-09-23 · Al Jazeera
Iran flights to Baghdad, Muscat cancelled ahead of US aviation sanctions · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 0 hedged)

Flights from Iran to Baghdad and Muscat will be cancelled starting at midnight ahead of new United States sanctions taking effect Wednesday, Tasnim News Agency reported. asserted
Agency → cancel → effect
A spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization told the news agency on Tuesday that the agency is “negotiating so that flights whose destination is Baghdad can be redirected to [Iraq’s] Najaf Airport”. asserted
destination → tell → Airport
Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Iran president heads to UNGA, vows to highlight US ‘oppression’ - list 2 of 3Iran delegation to present narrative of resilience, diplomacy at UNGA - list 3 of 3Trump: US-Iran meeting at UN was ‘very good’ Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that negotiations with Oman were likewise ongoing, adding that all remaining international flights, including those to Istanbul, will operate as scheduled. asserted
flights → head → Istanbul
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that all Iranian airlines would be shut down on September 23 through the threat of secondary sanctions on aviation service providers, seven months into the war between the US and Iran. asserted
airlines → say → US
Bessent told CNBC that when Iranian carriers land at an airport, “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”. asserted
you → tell → system
The move marks the latest step in Washington’s expanding sanctions campaign against Tehran. asserted
move → mark → Tehran
Aviation analysts told Al Jazeera that although the US lacks authority to close foreign airspace, targeting local refuelling and ground-handling providers achieves a similar outcome by cutting off essential operational support. asserted
targeting → tell → support
Earlier this month, the US issued stricter measures administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), placing restrictions on trade, energy and financial institutions. asserted
US → issue → institutions
The administration of President Donald Trump also expanded secondary sanctions in late August, warning that foreign firms doing business with Iran across shipping, technology, gold and digital assets face penalties of their own. asserted
firms → expand → own
Tehran, however, signalled on Saturday that it remains open to talks mediated by Qatar to reach a long-term resolution, while maintaining a combative stance towards Washington. asserted
it → signal → Washington
“It is in Washington’s interest to accept these conditions,” Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s security chief, told Al Jazeera in an interview last week. asserted
Rezaei → accept → interview
“Trump’s threats will not achieve any results. asserted
threats → achieve → results
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