NATO Ally’s Bid for America’s F-35 Jets Collides With Trump’s Iran Crackdown

At least 83 flights operated by Iranian airlines under U.S. sanctions landed in Turkey during the five days following a key American enforcement deadline, according to flight data reviewed by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The findings are raising fresh questions about whether Washington will penalize companies that continue serving the carriers in a NATO ally.

In a Sept. 28 report, FDD said U.S. pressure had driven Iranian airlines from several regional markets, including Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Turkey, however, remains a major hole in Washington’s campaign to restrict the carriers’ operations.

The report followed the Treasury Department’s Sept. 8 announcement of sweeping sanctions against Iran’s aviation sector. The agency designated all 27 remaining active Iranian airlines under Executive Order 13902, saying the industry has been used to move weapons, personnel and illicit cargo. Treasury also warned foreign companies about the risks of continuing to provide services to the sanctioned carriers.

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The flights are continuing at a particularly sensitive time in U.S.-Turkey relations. Turkey is a NATO ally, and President Donald Trump has highlighted his close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan while expressing openness to restoring Ankara’s participation in the F-35 fighter jet program. Turkey was removed from the program after acquiring Russia’s S-400 air-defense system, a decision that also led to U.S. sanctions in 2020.

During a July 2026 trip to Turkey, Trump said his administration would lift the sanctions and was weighing whether to permit Turkey to purchase F-35s. Congressional restrictions linked to Ankara’s possession of the S-400 remain a barrier, however. Erdoğan said on Sept. 24 that he expects Washington to take “concrete steps” toward Turkey’s reinstatement in the program.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that companies supplying sanctioned Iranian airlines with fuel, landing assistance or other services after the Sept. 23 wind-down deadline could lose access to the U.S. financial system. FDD quoted Bessent as saying Iranian airlines would be “shut down around the world” by that date.

Yet an analysis by FDD researchers Ahmad Sharawi and Sinan Ciddi of Flightradar24 flight histories found that at least 83 flights by U.S.-sanctioned Iranian carriers arrived in Turkey between Sept. 23 and Sept. 27. The flights landed at airports in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, the report said.

The researchers identified 12 sanctioned Iranian airlines among the arrivals. Iran Airtour and Caspian Airlines each recorded 12 landings, while Iran Air had 10. ATA Airlines and AVA Airlines accounted for nine apiece. Eight of the 12 carriers in the data were included in Treasury’s new Sept. 8 designations.

The Treasury Department told News Media that it has continued raising the issue with senior Turkish officials and warning Turkish companies and financial institutions that they could face sanctions exposure.

“Following Treasury’s productive engagements with senior Turkish authorities last month, which quickly translated into tangible results — including the cancellation of Mahan Air flights and the revocation of Bank Mellat’s license — we have continued discussions regarding Türkiye’s aviation links to Iran and the sanctions exposure Turkish financial institutions and businesses face for facilitating these flights,” a Treasury spokesperson told News Media. The spokesperson added that the department had made those risks clear and was continuing to address the matter with the Turkish government at senior levels.

The spokesperson also cited the administration’s wider “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign, saying it was helping cut Iran off from revenue and international markets. “Operation Economic Outcast is delivering results as Treasury and our partners continue to sever the Iranian regime’s remaining economic lifelines,” the spokesperson said. “Iran’s rial has fallen to record lows, Iran loaded no crude oil onto tankers in September, and countries across the region are taking concrete steps to restrict Iran’s access to the international financial system and commercial aviation.”

“We will continue applying pressure and holding accountable those who provide the regime with the financial and commercial lifelines it needs to sustain its terrorist activities,” the spokesperson said.

Turkey has taken some measures to reduce its aviation connections with Iran. Turkish Airlines, AJet and Pegasus removed Iranian routes from their schedules, while Mahan Air suspended service to Turkey starting Sept. 21, according to Turkish Minute, which cited airline schedules and reporting from the Financial Times and other outlets.

Mahan Air has been under U.S. sanctions since 2011. Treasury said the airline had provided financial, material and technological support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

Other sanctioned carriers have continued operating flights to Turkey. Treasury designated Caspian Airlines and Meraj Air as Specially Designated Global Terrorists in August 2014. The department said Caspian had transported IRGC personnel and weapons to Syria, while Meraj had carried illicit cargo, including weapons, to the Syrian government.

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Sharawi told News Media that the flights demonstrate a disconnect between Ankara’s public measures and its treatment of sanctioned Iranian airlines.

“The fact that sanctioned Iranian airlines continue to land in Turkey, despite Washington’s clear effort to restrict their operations, is a testament to Ankara’s willingness to take symbolic measures while turning a blind eye to much of Iran’s broader activity,” Sharawi said.

Sharawi argued that Washington could increase pressure by targeting Turkish companies that continue providing services to sanctioned Iranian carriers.

“Ankara may think it can get away with this, but Washington has not hesitated in the past to sanction Turkish entities that support sanctioned Iranian actors,” he told News Media. “Continuing to target companies that provide that support would send a clear message to Ankara that facilitating Iran’s sanctioned networks will carry consequences.”

He said such measures could have a practical effect on Iran’s ability to maintain the routes.

“If the United States targets the support system that keeps these sanctioned Iranian carriers operating, private Turkish companies will have much less incentive to continue doing business with them,” Sharawi said. “If those companies begin cutting ties, it could significantly restrict Iranian airlines’ ability to operate routes to Turkey.”

The Turkey findings come as another advocacy group is raising concerns about a different potential weak point in Washington’s campaign to isolate Tehran: Iranian maritime commerce in waters near Malaysia.

United Against Nuclear Iran said Sept. 25 that its investigators traveled roughly 100 nautical miles into the South China Sea near Malaysia’s Eastern Outer Port Limits, where the group said it observed Iranian-linked tankers, cargo vessels and bulk carriers alongside Malaysian bunker vessels supplying ships with fuel. UANI described the concentration of ships as a “floating city” supporting Iran’s sanctions-evasion network. Those findings were produced by UANI and have not been independently verified for this draft.

“After seeing this floating city of ghost tankers with our own eyes, it is clear it is serving as an illicit Malaysia-backed lifeline for the Iranian regime,” UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said in a Sept. 25 statement. He accused Malaysian entities of providing support that allows Tehran to continue generating revenue despite international efforts to economically isolate the regime.

Former Florida Gov. and UANI Chairman Jeb Bush and Wallace called on the Treasury Department to sanction entities associated with Malaysia’s Pengerang petroleum complex as well as Malaysian entities or officials they allege are facilitating the trade. Their call for sanctions is an advocacy position and does not establish that the Malaysian entities have violated U.S. law.

News Media has learned that Treasury has mapped Iranian oil-smuggling networks, facilitators and financial channels, including deceptive shipping activity off the coast of Malaysia, and that senior Treasury officials continue to raise the issue with Malaysian and other foreign government counterparts.

Taken together, the findings from FDD and UANI highlight what the organizations describe as continuing enforcement challenges as Washington attempts to cut Iran off from international aviation, shipping and financial networks. Treasury has continued expanding that campaign: on Sept. 29, it announced another round of sanctions targeting individuals and companies it said had procured weapons and components for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

News Media reached out to the Turkish and Malaysian embassies for comment but did not receive a response.