WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 -- The world's airports received an ultimatum on Monday. By Wednesday, any terminal that refuels an Iranian aircraft, any ground handler that services an Iranian carrier, any ticketing agent that books a passenger onto an Iranian airline will face the prospect of being severed from the US dollar system. Scott Bessent delivered the message in a CNBC interview Monday morning, speaking one day after concluding talks with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York. The implication was plain: the United States has decided to outsource the enforcement of its sanctions to the infrastructure of global aviation itself.

"If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot ...