Iran's Security Chief Warns, 'Blocking Flights Will Also Paralyze Airports in Neighboring Countries'

Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the country's security chief, has warned of "tit-for-tat sanctions" against neighboring countries that join U.S.-led sanctions against Iran by disrupting the operation of Iranian aircraft.

While presenting seven preconditions for lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has stepped up its all-out pressure campaign by boasting of recent military achievements against the U.S. military.

In an interview with Iran's state broadcaster IRIB on September 23, local time, Secretary Rezai urged, "Neighboring countries must not interfere with the issue of Iranian flight operations and should not play into the hands of the United States."

He went on to warn, "If they intervene, we will restrict the operations of aircraft from neighboring countries that cooperate with the U.S."

This is interpreted as an implicit threat of retaliation against regional neighbors attempting to join recent U.S.-led aviation sanctions or airspace controls against Iran.

Earlier on September 21, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned of triggering secondary boycotts against aviation service providers, stating that all Iranian airlines would completely suspend operations by September 23.

Ahead of the sanction schedule announced by Secretary Bessent, flights departing from Iran to Baghdad, Iraq, and Muscat, Oman, were canceled entirely starting the previous day.

Secretary Rezai also urged a change in attitude from the U.S. as a prerequisite for lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, stating that the strait will not be opened unless seven demands are met.

Emphasizing that "there has been enough dialogue and negotiation, and now is the time for action," he stated, "If the U.S. does not fulfill Iran's conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will never be opened."

Referring to the recent armed clashes with the U.S., Secretary Rezai evaluated them by saying, "We inflicted humiliation on the United States."

He claimed, "For the first time in history, we succeeded in hitting the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington with an anti-ship missile, and Iran is the first nation to shoot down a U.S. F-35 fighter jet and an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft."

He also launched a fierce attack targeting U.S. President Donald Trump, who heavily focused on Iran during the UN General Assembly, and Israel.

Secretary Rezai claimed, "President Trump's excessive obsession with Iran in his UN General Assembly speech rather proves that the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran has multiplied."

(Photo: Capture from IRNA's Telegram channel, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.