On September 8, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new designations targeting Iran’s 27 remaining airlines that had not already been sanctioned, along with foreign businesses accused of supporting Iranian aviation procurement. Moreover, Treasury revoked key authorizations supporting overflights of Iranian airspace and enabling non-U.S. airlines to fly U.S.-origin or U.S.-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran. Washington presented the action as part of its campaign against networks supporting Iran’s military and security apparatus, which is part of a series of intensified economic pressure that has resulted in the removal of separate long-standing exemptions to U.S. sanctions, including those supporting academic, humanitarian and cultural exchanges.
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Iranian officials have responded to American sanctions on the nation’s aviation sector with confidence, while industry figures have reflected concern. Civil Aviation Organization chief Abouzar Shiroudi described aviation sanctions as a failed policy and said they would not stop the sector’s operations, while acknowledging that restrictions could complicate procurement.
However, the country’s airline association has warned of consequences for passenger access and aircraft maintenance. The Association of Iranian Airlines focused on the infrastructure needed to sustain its operations. Its statement warned that intensified restrictions on parts, equipment and technical services could undermine flight safety and continuity. It urged international aviation bodies, including International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA), to address the consequences for passengers and aviation workers, arguing that access to civilian transportation should be protected from political disputes.
For passengers, the consequences depend partly on how foreign airports, service providers and airlines implement the measures. As of September 9, Imam Khomeini Airport’s director said no flights there had been canceled because of the new sanctions. However, the broader operational impact remains unclear. The announced restrictions are likely to reduce direct connections and increase reliance on journeys through third countries. Additional connections can mean separate tickets, overnight accommodation, transit requirements and more opportunities for missed departures.
These burdens matter particularly for trips with little flexibility: visiting an ill parent, attending a university enrollment appointment or reaching a hospital for scheduled treatment are likely to grow more difficult. An affordable ticket can become unusable if the connection requires a visa the passenger cannot obtain.
War and sanctions create different obstacles to the same journey. Fighting can close airspace or lead airlines to suspend routes because of immediate security risks. Sanctions can obstruct payments, aircraft servicing and commercial relationships even when a route is physically open. Restoring security therefore does not automatically restore the services needed to operate.
The airline association’s safety warning also has a practical technical basis. Aircraft maintenance requires traceable components, records showing how long parts have been used, and compliance with inspection and replacement schedules. Engine repairs may require specialized tools, approved technical instructions and access to qualified repair facilities. Having a replacement part available is only one element of returning an aircraft to service.
When required maintenance cannot be completed, an aircraft may have to remain grounded. That reduces the number of available seats and leaves airlines with fewer replacement aircraft when another plane needs repairs. The effects can appear as thinner schedules and cancellations before passengers see any broader interruption of service. Restrictions on maintenance increase the difficulty of sustaining a usable fleet; they do not, by themselves, establish that every operating aircraft is unsafe.
Separately, the suspension of general licensing impacting academic institutions are already excluding Iranians in and outside the country from significant educational services. Following the suspension of the U.S. authorization known as General License G, ETS announced that it had paused TOEFL and GRE testing within Iran and canceled future appointments there. It also set September 8 as the deadline for people located in Iran to request additional reports of existing scores. ETS said Iranian nationals remain eligible to take its tests outside Iran, subject to registration requirements and appointment availability. Its restriction is therefore based on location. However, this will now necessitate an applicant to arrange an international trip simply to complete an admissions requirement.
That is where restrictions on education and aviation intersect. A student who previously could take a test locally may now need foreign currency for transportation and accommodation, permission to enter another country and a suitable appointment before an application deadline. A refund of the original examination fee does not cover those additional expenses or recover a missed admissions cycle.
Other providers’ responses have extended beyond testing centers inside Iran. On September 4, NIAC reported that Pearson had canceled scheduled PTE English examinations and invalidated prepaid vouchers for Iranian test takers outside the country, citing U.S. sanctions. Likewise, NIAC reported on September 10 that LSAC, the administrator of the LSAT legal admissions exam had barred individuals of Iranian heritage in light of the sanctions, including in the United States. This places an obstacle at an early stage of a legal career, potentially disrupting applications before a student begins professional training. It also brings the effects of Iran sanctions into institutions serving people already living in North America.
The differing approaches create another difficulty for applicants: traveling abroad does not necessarily resolve the problem across providers. Eligibility may depend on residence, identification documents and the company’s interpretation of sanctions. Students must establish whether they can actually sit an examination before committing money to travel and accommodation.
Together, these restrictions illustrate how a broader sanctions campaign can have impacts far removed from decisionmakers in Tehran. Some advocates of tougher sanctions explicitly favor extending the campaign’s operational reach - including by advocating aggressive enforcement actions targeting Iran’s civilian air sector. Pro-war pundits with influence in the Trump administration have framed sustained economic crisis as a potentially greater threat to Iran’s government than additional military attacks. This argument treats the government’s inability to stabilize economic life as a source of political vulnerability.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed a more explicit version of that logic in an interview with Israeli television. He described overthrowing Iran’s government as the overarching objective and argued that economic pressure could help bring it down by forcing Iranian civilians into an impossible situation. “In the end, the Iranian citizens will have nothing to lose, you have your back against the wall and nothing to eat and you have nothing to drink and you have no job and no electricity.” Smotrich has a history of issuing genocidal commentary in support of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, and his formula for Iran is similar - massive collective punishment of a civilian population as part of a convoluted path toward regime change in Iran.
These arguments differ in their proposed instruments and severity, but they expose the central political assumption behind escalating pressure: that worsening economic conditions are supposed to translate into a challenge capable of bringing down the Iranian government. That outcome is a prediction. Yet, with economic pressure mounting for years, the impacts have been felt primarily by ordinary civilians in Iran. Now, the removal of longstanding exemptions amid a saturated sanctions environment is impacting individuals even further removed from decisionmakers in Iran - including aspiring students in the United States.
For Iranian aviation professionals, the immediate demand is continued access to the supplies and cooperation required for safe transportation. For affected students and aspiring lawyers, it is restoration of examination access before deadlines pass. Both concerns focus on the capacity of ordinary people to maintain relationships and build a future, even as confrontation deepens.