Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated that the country is “firmly opposed” to US sanctions against Iranian aviation that came into force this Wednesday (23).
“China’s position is consistent. We firmly oppose illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the UN Security Council,” Guo said in response to the agency’s query AFP whether China would continue to allow Iranian aircraft to land on Chinese territory.
As part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” economic campaign, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had announced “Operation Economic Pariah” (“Operation Economic Outcast“), on August 24th, focusing on five sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and maritime transport.
On September 8, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) sanctioned “36 targets for supporting Iran’s aviation sector.”
In a press release, Bessent said: “Today we fulfill that promise with sanctions against companies that continue to support Mahan Air,” Iran’s main private airline.
“Let this serve as a warning to everyone who does business with other Iranian airlines, all of which were sanctioned today: you are at risk of being excluded from the global financial system,” added the American official.
Flights maintained and canceled
Despite the entry into force of the sanctions, the flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows flights from Istanbul and Ankara, in Turkey, to the Iranian capital, Tehran, and from Mashhad (Iran) to Najaf (Iraq), in addition to flights to Bangkok and Phuket, in Thailand, and to Shanghai, in China.
Azerbaijan has suspended connections with Iran since Tuesday (22), citing US sanctions. Turkish Airlines announced the suspension of all its flights to Iran until at least March 2027. Bessent had stated, on Monday (21), that the sanctions would interrupt the international operations of Iranian airlines from September 23.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
