Turkey, Oman, Azerbaijan, Georgia, UAE stop Mahan Air flights: Airline quietly stops listing routes to India and Malaysia

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that Turkey and Oman had stopped Mahan Air flights, while the UAE had halted flights by Iranian airlines.

Besides Turkey and Oman, Azerbaijan and Georgia have also suspended Iranian carrier flights.

Mahan Air has also quietly stopped listing routes to India and Malaysia despite no public ban from either government.

The US Treasury gave airlines and service providers until September 23, 2026 to stop servicing Iran Air and Mahan Air or lose access to the dollar system.

But China refused, calling the sanctions "illegal".

Unconfirmed reports show Mahan Air was still flying cargo from China to Tehran at "double its prewar rate this month", CBS News reported.

The US deadline applies to 27 designated Iranian airlines across a broader 36-target aviation crackdown announced in August.

The measures add pressure on Iran's aviation and financial sectors as Tehran's currency faces severe depreciation.

Iran's national security chief warned, however, that countries complying could face airport disruptions of their own.

Bessent also said major banks in Turkey and the UAE had stopped transactions with Iran following US pressure.

He thanked Turkey, Oman, the UAE and Britain for their cooperation, saying the campaign was “delivering results.”

Now, travelers booked on Iran Air or Mahan Air, or connecting through Dubai or Doha, should verify if their flights are still operating before departure.

The Strait of Hormuz, however, remains at the heart of the dispute.

Iran has linked any reopening of the waterway to its conditions being met, while Washington has rejected the idea that Tehran should be able to use the strait as leverage in negotiations.

The crisis has sharply disrupted maritime traffic and energy flows, although US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that oil shipments through Hormuz were averaging nearly 13 million barrels a day, with flows exceeding pre-war levels on at least one day last week.

That suggests the situation is more complicated than claims that the waterway is completely closed or empty.

China has also sought to keep a diplomatic route open. President Xi Jinping told Trump last week that Beijing supported a return to the June Islamabad agreement, which was aimed at ending the conflict and reopening Hormuz.

China's involvement adds another diplomatic channel as Qatar continues efforts to bridge the US and Iranian positions.

The immediate question is whether Washington will send Tehran a formal response through the mediators — and whether that response differs from Trump's public rejection.

Iran has kept its conditions for reopening Hormuz in place, while Washington continues military and economic pressure.

For now, the diplomatic channel remains open even as the two sides publicly reject each other's terms. The possibility of renewed talks therefore coexists with continued preparations for further military confrontation.