"Open all or close all"... Iran, cut off from the skies, threatens a 'flight ban' across the Middle East

[Financial News] As neighboring Middle Eastern countries successively barred flights from Iran from landing in the fallout from the United States' high-intensity aviation sanctions, Iran's top leadership warned that it could completely control flights across the region and threatened strong retaliation. It was an “extreme measure” threat to physically block the entire Middle East's airspace if Iran's own air routes were shut down.
According to Reuters, Al Jazeera and other outlets on the 25th local time, Mohammad Mokhber, adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader (Mojtaba Khamenei), targeted neighboring countries that joined the sanctions in a post on X that day, saying, "The implementation of hostile policies in cooperation with the United States will remain forever in the memory of the Iranian people."
Mokhber warned, "Our strategy on this issue is clear. Flights in the region will either be open to everyone or open to no one," adding, "If Iran is denied access to flights and airport services, no country in the region will have access to those facilities." This followed a warning on the 23rd from Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), that neighboring airports could be paralyzed, with Iran's top leadership again signaling retaliation.
The tough remarks came as Iran's international flights were being squeezed by the Donald Trump administration's "Economic D-Day" operation. The United States threatened from the 23rd to impose a secondary boycott, or third-party sanctions, on every company worldwide that provides services to Iranian airlines. In response, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries are successively halting the acceptance of Iranian flights.
It has caused particular shock that even Iraq, which is closely tied to Iran religiously and politically, joined the sanctions. Ramin Kashif Azar, CEO of Imam Khomeini International Airport in Iran, said, "At 2 a.m. today, we were notified by Al Najaf International Airport authorities that flights from Iran had been closed." Najaf, a Shiite holy site, is a major destination for Iranians. Reuters also reported that Iraq's Erbil International Airport and Sulaymaniyah Airport had halted Iranian aircraft operations.
However, around 8:30 a.m., after the notification that Al Najaf International Airport had been closed, one Meraj Airlines passenger plane was found to have taken off as an exception. Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) is currently engaged in multifaceted negotiations to arrange the return of Iranian nationals stranded in Iraq and Iraqis seeking to return home.
With neighboring countries suspending routes to Iran and Iran adding a threat to block Middle Eastern airspace, concerns are spreading that global passenger and cargo transport passing through the region could face serious disruptions.  

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