Pacific Money | Economy | Central Asia | Southeast Asia
In addition to sanctioning 27 Iranian airlines, the U.S. designated Turkish, Kazakh, and Malaysian companies for serving as general sales agents for long-sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air.
On September 8, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions aimed at grounding Iranian airlines, as part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast.” The sanctions hit 36 entities, including cargo service providers and general sales agents based in Turkiye, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia.
The Trump administration’s war against Iran has stretched into its seventh month. Although the U.S. government claims to be in control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, traffic remains low. Reuters reported that six commodity vessels passed through the strait on September 8, “down from nine a day earlier and below the 10-day average of about 12.” In 2025, before the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, more than 100 commodity vessels passed through the strait each day on average.
In late August the Treasury Department announced an “economic D-Day.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained: “In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
