Khamenei adviser threatens: Either Iran's planes fly or the region's flights stop

Mohammad Mokhber, adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, on Friday commented on the United States' ban on Iranian flights.

Mokhber said in a press statement: "If Iran is unable to operate flights and obtain airport services, no country in the region will be able to do so either."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "restoring the security of maritime navigation in the region requires stopping the U.S. measures that destabilize security and its economic terrorism."

It is noted that countries, airports and airlines rushed to reconsider their dealings with Iranian carriers, fearing exposure to secondary sanctions from Washington, which led to the suspension and cancellation of a number of international flights and disrupted Iran's air transport network.

These developments came after a new U.S. sanctions package entered into force, targeting Iran's aviation sector comprehensively, including companies that provide fuel, maintenance, ground handling and ticket sales for Iranian carriers.

The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization announced that Baghdad and Muscat airports stopped receiving Iranian flights starting at 12:00 midnight last Tuesday local time (11:30 p.m. Baghdad time).

The U.S. Treasury Department had announced, on September 8, that it imposed sanctions on 36 entities for supporting Iran's aviation sector, which the regime uses to transport "weapons, personnel and illicit goods."