Trump must close this Turkish loophole that allows Iran to skirt sanctions
Washington has done well targeting Tehran’s shipping, banking and financial networks.The regime is increasingly being pushed onto costlier land routes.But some countries are leaving one major artery relatively open to Iran: the sky. Turkey is among the worst offenders; Washington needs to rein it in.After Iran reopened its airspace in April, commercial flights returned.In May, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would move to deny Iran’s main carriers’ landing rights.
Yet they kept flying internationally.So President Donald Trump went further: In September, the Treasury Department sanctioned all active Iranian airlines, dramatically widening Washington’s economic campaign against Iran’s aviation sector.Iranian airlines give Tehran access to foreign markets and the ability to transport personnel and weapons across borders, including for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.That’s why closing Iran’s aviation routes matters and pressuring countries to cut off flights is essential.In much of the Middle East, that pressure is working: Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates suspended Iranian flights.Turkey, not so much.Yes, Ankara has taken some steps.Mahan Air, a US-sanctioned Iranian carrier, was supposedly forced to suspend flights to Turkey on Sept.
21.Turkey also revoked the operating license of Iran’s Bank Mellat branch in Istanbul, and Turkish carriers remain off routes to Iran.But those measures are narrow — and seemingly cosmetic.Our review of flight histories found more than 90 Iranian airline landings in Turkey after Sept.23, which is when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed Iranian airlines’ international flights would be effectively grounded.Those aircraft are not operating in Turkey without help.
Turkish companies are providing ground support that keeps sanctioned Iranian carriers operating.They handle passengers and cargo and provide critical ramp services at Turkish airports, the kind of support that should put them...