US Sanctions Ground Iranian Flights as Gulf States Shut Airspace

Iranian airlines were blocked from flying into several neighbouring countries on Thursday, the first significant fallout from a new US policy that threatens penalties on foreign companies doing business with Iranian carriers.

The United Arab Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority said it was suspending all flights by Iranian airlines until further notice, citing the new US measures. The UAE is the Middle East's largest travel hub, making the move a substantial blow to Iran's connectivity.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that flights had also been halted to Oman, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Baghdad. Authorities were working to redirect services to Najaf, a major Shi'ite pilgrimage destination in Iraq. Other Gulf states appeared to have imposed similar restrictions.

Scheduled arrivals and departures at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport on Thursday listed routes to and from Afghanistan, Armenia, China, Iraq, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkey, but none to or from the nearby Gulf states with which Iran has long maintained close business and travel ties.

Washington had warned it would sanction any global company dealing with Iranian airlines after September 23, aiming to ground Iran's civil fleet worldwide. The approach marks a shift toward secondary sanctions — penalties targeting third-country firms — after months of a largely stalemated battlefield conflict. US President Donald Trump has described the strategy as "economic D-Day".

A sustained flight ban could deepen Iran's isolation and aggravate an economic crisis already compounded by a US naval blockade of its ports. A retired teacher in Tehran described the situation as living in "an open-air prison".

Iran has signalled that enforcement of the air blockade could trigger escalation. A senior Iranian official warned on Wednesday that airports in any regional country complying with the US ban could be made "unusable".

Separately, Saudi authorities said they intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi movement on Thursday, after emergency alerts were issued for areas including Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu, the kingdom's main Red Sea oil port. The Houthis said they had launched dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets.

A Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said any escalation by the group would be met firmly. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had struck Saudi military sites in Jazan province, targeting operations rooms, command centres, weapons depots, missile launch sites and military camps.

Sources in Yemen's internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government said their forces had repelled overnight Houthi attacks on a key supply route to Aden. The Houthis, who already controlled the north including Sanaa, seized the entire Red Sea coast this month and have pushed into highlands near Taiz and the road from Aden.

Fighting has centred on the mountain pass of Hejat al-Abd, a lifeline for pro-government forces and for goods entering Taiz. The United Nations says more than 700 people have been killed and thousands wounded in the latest fighting, with nearly 130,000 Yemenis displaced internally and more than 3,000 fleeing by boat across the Red Sea to Africa.