(Photo credit: Reuters)The Cradle
SEP 23, 2026
Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned neighboring states against joining in on Washington’s ‘adventure,’ after the US announced a campaign targeting the Islamic Republic’s civil aviation
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council warned neighboring states allied to Washington on 23 September that their airports will be “paralyzed” if they cooperate with US attempts to prevent the landing of Iranian airliners.
“We ask all the countries of the region not to join America’s adventure. If they do not allow Iranian aircraft to travel, their own airports will not be able to have flights either,” said Supreme National Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei in an interview with state television.
“You are our friends, but you should not join America’s ranks. You should prevent the war from spreading,” he added.
Hours earlier, flight tracker FlightRadar24 confirmed that an Iranian airliner belonging to Mahan Air landed in southern China on 23 September despite the new US sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s civil aviation.
Washington’s campaign against Iranian aviation began on Tuesday and was announced a day earlier by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“On 23 September, all Iranian airlines will be grounded globally,” he told CNBC.
“If they land, they cannot be supplied with fuel or landing services, nor can tickets be sold for them; otherwise, you will be cut off from the dollar system,” Bessent added.
Earlier this month, Washington had unveiled sweeping sanctions on all Iranian airliners and foreign companies that do business with them. This included Mahan Air.
Rezaei’s stern warning on Tuesday coincided with the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, where Iran’s president made a speech.
On the sidelines, and via Qatar, Iran issued its conditions for a return to diplomacy with the US.
Tehran is demanding an end to the fighting on all fronts, a halt to US acts of aggression, the lifting of Washington’s naval blockade, an end to its economic war on Iran, and the release of Iranian assets.
Iran’s military released a statement days ago saying it received intelligence of upcoming, regionally backed US attacks on the Islamic Republic.
“We warn that if the US makes any mistake against the Islamic Republic of Iran, all its positions and interests in the region will be targeted by sustained, effective and painful attacks, without any limitations or considerations,” the army stated, while extending warnings to regional countries allied to Washington.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on 22 September that any new escalation will be met with an “expansion of the geography” of the war, as well as the use of “new weapons” against “new targets.”
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Good! Iran is standing firm! And China is giving the U.S. the finger since Iranian planes are still landing and taking off there. Also, it is expected that Turkey and Pakistan are going to likewise ignore Bessent’s threats. The U.S. at this point is a joke and many countries are going to start treating it as such. This does my heart good!
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