Sanctions of Iran’s civil aviation testing credibility of int’l law
By Kamran Yeganegi
International affairs expert
No political dispute and no security claim grants an unlimited license to endanger the safety and lives of civilians. The fundamental credibility of international law is tested precisely at the moment when a hegemonic power employs its financial and technological monopoly to impose political will, yet exempts itself from accountability before fundamental norms. The recent decision by the US Department of the Treasury in September 2026 to block Iran’s aviation network — including the simultaneous sanctioning of approximately 27 airlines, the revocation of general licenses, and the suspension of insurance and airport services — has placed such a test before the international community: can a monopoly over international financial arteries serve as a legitimate pretext for depriving a society of the fundamental right to safety and mobility?
Washington claims that these pressures are targeted in nature and aimed at security channels; however, in practice, the real victims of this policy are not only political decision-makers, but also civilians, flight crews, and ordinary passengers. When third-party companies are prohibited, under the threat of “secondary sanctions,” from providing fuel, navigation services, and essential parts, the consequences immediately affect the target society: a fleet with an average age of over 25 years, due to deprivation of parts and standard maintenance, is forced to resort to the high-risk practice of “cannibalization” — an issue that has sounded a serious alarm for aviation accidents and contradicts the fundamental principles of Article 44 of the Chicago Convention on maintaining the safe and orderly development of aviation.
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