In response to US sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector, several Middle Eastern states have suspended flights operated by Iranian airlines. However, Beijing has not adopted the American sanctions, and flights to China continue. 

On Wednesday, a US deadline for foreign companies to stop doing business with 27 sanctioned Iranian airlines expired, and flights to Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Georgia, and Azerbaijan have been canceled. Flights to Baghdad have also been suspended, but officials are discussing routing Iranian-Iraqi air travel through Najaf. 

The sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector are part of Operation Economic Outcast. The operation was announced in August and branded an “economic D-Day” by the White House. President Donald Trump hoped the sanctions would cripple the Iranian economy and force Tehran into negotiations on Washington’s terms. 

However, the economic war is yet to move Tehran’s demands for ending the conflict. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, “We will never bow our head or bend at the knee.”

After Operation Economic Outcast was announced in August, Axios reported that it was part of a shift in Trump’s strategy. Rather than defeating Iran, the US intended to destroy the Iranian economy. 

The strategy requires enough Gulf oil to get out of the Middle East to keep gas prices in the US from spiking as the sanctions slowly grind down the Iranian economy. Trump’s hopes were diminished when drones fired from Iraq disabled Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline earlier this month. Riyadh has since restarted the pipeline at reduced capacity.

Yemen’s Ansar Allah has also damaged several Iranian energy facilities in recent weeks. 

Additionally, China is refusing to implement the US sanctions on Iran, and flights between the two nations continue. When Operation Economic Outcast was announced, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said, “Cooperation between China and Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted.”

The US may be reluctant to slap secondary sanctions on China for continuing its economic relationship with Iran, particularly as Washington and Beijing have agreed to extend their trade truce until January 2027. Additionally, Iranian airports listed flights to and from Afghanistan, Armenia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkey on Thursday.