At least 83 flights operated by U.S.-sanctioned Iranian airlines landed in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir in the five days after a key American sanctions deadline passed, according to flight data analyzed by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and reported by Fox News.
The Sept. 28 FDD report, authored by researchers Ahmad Sharawi and Sinan Ciddi, found that while U.S. pressure has pushed Iranian carriers out of markets including Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Turkey remains a gap in Washington’s effort to ground them.
The flights came after the Treasury Department announced sweeping new sanctions on Sept. 8, designating all 27 remaining active Iranian airlines under Executive Order 13902. Treasury has said Iran’s aviation sector has been used to move weapons, personnel and illicit cargo.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had warned that after a Sept. 23 wind-down deadline, any company providing sanctioned Iranian airlines with fuel, landing support or other services risked losing access to the U.S. financial system. He said Iranian airlines would be
