US Treasury chief says Iran airlines to be 'shut down' 23 September

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that Iranian airlines will struggle to operate globally in two days under the weight of American sanctions, as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Tehran. On 23 September, "all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world," Bessent told CNBC in an interview as the war launched by the US and Israel nears the seven-month mark. "If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system," he added. The move follows earlier US sanctions on Iran's aviation industry and Bessent's "economic D-Day" threat on Iran and pledge to choke off Tehran financially.