China rejected on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, United States sanctions on Iranian airlines and threatened to fly through US airspace, the The Guardian reports.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a CNBC interview that “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world” within days, according to Mehr News. “China consistently opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law or authorization from the UN Security Council,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. Mehr News is an Iranian state-linked agency, and China’s threats appear in the British newspaper’s live coverage.