US warns of sanctions against businesses working with Iranian airlines

WASHINGTON - Businesses working with Iranian airlines risk US sanctions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, calling the warning a part of a campaign to put economic pressure on Tehran during the US and Israel's war against Iran. Here are some details:

* Iranian state media reported over the weekend that Iran has resumed commercial flights from Tehran's international airport for the first time since the start of the war.

* Iran's state media reported that flights were scheduled to depart for Istanbul, Oman's capital of Muscat, the Saudi city of Medina and for Iraq and Qatar.

* The US Treasury Department has said Washington is imposing a "financial stranglehold" on the Iranian government.

* "Doing business with sanctioned Iranian airlines risks exposure to US sanctions," Bessent said in a post on X.

* "Foreign governments should take all actions necessary to ensure that companies in their jurisdictions do not provide services to those aircraft, including the provision of jet fuel, catering, landing fees or maintenance," he said.

* A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war began nearly three weeks ago.

* The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. The war has killed thousands and displaced millions in several countries, including Lebanon.