Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries including the UAE and Oman, on Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first ​big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in third countries that do business with Iran.

The General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates, ‌the Middle East's biggest travel hub, said that as a result of the new US policy it was suspending all flights by Iranian airlines until further notice.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that flights had also been shut down to Oman, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, and to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. It said authorities were working to route flights to another Iraqi airport, in Najaf, a major Shi'ite Muslim religious pilgrimage site.

Washington had announced it would put sanctions on any global companies doing business ​with Iranian airlines after September 23, with the aim of grounding Iran's entire civil fleet worldwide.

Other countries in the Gulf region also appeared to have restricted flights.

Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport listed scheduled ​arrivals and departures on Thursday to and from countries including Afghanistan, Armenia, China, Iraq, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkey. But no flights were listed to or from the nearby Gulf states, which have long been among Iran's most important business and travel partners.

Iran has suggested that enforcement of a US-mandated air blockade would lead to potential ​escalation. On Wednesday, a senior Iranian official threatened to make airports "unusable" in any regional country that abides by the US ban.

Source: Reuters