Trump Grounds Iranian Planes Worldwide After Pulling Back From Attacking Houthis

President Donald Trump’s administration has grounded Iran’s airline industry a day after calling off American air strikes on Tehran’s proxy army in Yemen, the Houthis.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the new measures Monday and set a Wednesday deadline for Iranian airlines to cease international operations.“If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system,” Mr. Bessent said. America will place secondary sanctions on companies providing aviation services to the airlines, Mr. Bessent added.The move could directly impact Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, who will land in New York City Tuesday for the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Pezeshkian would be leaving New York after the ban took effect.The move comes after President Trump aborted planned air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen over the weekend. On Thursday, according to the New York Times, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Trump and asked him to attack Houthi targets in Yemen. The group has made recent gains in territory, alarming the Saudis.The Times reported that the US attack plans were advanced enough that targets had been chosen and bombs were being loaded onto planes when the order to call off the strikes came down from the White House.That call came at midday Sunday, halting an attack that aviation trackers had already seen evidence of through numerous US airborne tankers positioned to refuel warplanes across the Middle East.The Houthis have avoided attacking US shipping but frequently targeted Saudi ships. This may be connected to a reputed secret deal between the Houthis and the US reached in Oman earlier this month, Al Jazeera reported.According to Al Jazeera, the arrangement meant that Houthi raiders would focus on Saudi ships rather than American or Israeli tankers. They would also keep the Bab al-Mandab Strait open for US commerce.The Trump administration has not commented on that report.

Trump Grounds Iranian Planes Worldwide After Pulling Back From Attacking Houthis

Trump Grounds Iranian Planes Worldwide After Pulling Back From Attacking Houthis

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