New US sanctions shut down Iranian flights

By Federico Maccioni, Eman Abouhassira and Timour Azhari DUBAI/RIYADH, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries including the UAE and Oman on Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in third countries that do business with Iran. The General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East's biggest travel hub, said that as a result of the new US policy it was suspending all flights by Iranian airlines until further notice.