Turkey suspends flights by Iran’s largest airline

• The Tehran–Ankara route is one of Iran's most heavily trafficked international air links, so losing it is a major blow to Mahan Air and Iran's already strained aviation sector. 
• ISNA reports the halt applies to flights in both directions with no resumption date given; other airlines continue flying the route. 

Turkish authorities have directed Mahan Air, Iran's largest carrier, to suspend all flights to Turkey, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press Thursday, marking one of the most consequential disruptions yet to Tehran's already battered aviation industry. 

The Iran-Turkey corridor is among the busiest and most heavily used air routes connecting Iran to the outside world, serving as a critical link for passengers, cargo, and business travel between the two countries.

 Losing it represents a serious setback for Mahan Air and for an Iranian aviation sector that has spent years operating under the weight of international sanctions, aging fleets, and limited access to spare parts and new aircraft.

According to Iran's ISNA news agency, the suspension affects flights between Tehran and Ankara in both directions and is set to take effect this week, with no timeline given for when service might resume. 

ISNA noted that other carriers continue to operate on the route, meaning the immediate impact will fall most heavily on Mahan Air itself rather than on all Iran-Turkey air travel.

The Sanctions Behind the Move

The suspension follows a sweeping round of US Treasury sanctions announced on Sep. 8 under "Operation Economic Outcast," an ongoing campaign targeting Iran's aviation network. 

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 27 Iranian airlines along with nine third-country intermediaries accused of helping those carriers evade earlier restrictions, obtain aircraft and parts, and move cargo internationally.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the sanctions as a warning to any company that continues doing business with the designated airlines, stating that firms servicing them risk being cut off from the global financial system entirely.

Read more: Pezeshkian says US sanctions aim at Iran’s internal collapse