OMM Redaksiyası
Iran has urged Iraq to lift remaining flight restrictions linked to US sanctions and fully restore air travel between the two countries, even as services resumed in part at one Iraqi airport earlier this week.
In a statement on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned Washington’s “illegal and inhumane” efforts to disrupt Iranian trade and air transport through the “extraterritorial enforcement” of US sanctions, according to Al Jazeera.
Flights resume between Najaf and Iran
Flights between Najaf and Iran restarted late on Monday, Iraq’s state-run Iraqi News Agency reported. The agency credited “diligent efforts” by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi with the resumption.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the movement of millions of Iranian and Iraqi citizens required “an independent and responsible approach” to disagreements between the two governments.
Iraq’s ambassador to Iran, Yasser Abdulzahra al-Hajjaj, said Baghdad had not decided to suspend Iranian flights. Foreign ground-handling companies had refused to provide services, however, over concerns about US sanctions.
Restrictions affect travel and pilgrimages
Flights remained suspended at Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports, leaving passengers to make land journeys of at least 12 hours and disrupting pilgrim travel between Shia-majority areas.
The suspensions prompted protests across Iraq, including outside Najaf airport and in Nasiriya, Karbala and Amarah, Iranian news agency Press TV reported.
The US ban took effect on September 23 and targets any company doing business with Iranian airlines. It has sharply reduced Iran’s international air links.
Iran’s international air links narrow
Flights to and from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport have fallen by 42%, according to aviation monitor “FlightRadar24”. Routes to Georgia, Oman and Azerbaijan have halted entirely, while flights to Dubai have been suspended since September 23.
Flights to China have remained steady. The busiest route, to Türkiye, has declined by 19%, although individual airlines have added or withdrawn services on the route.
Iraq’s government had sought a US exemption “on humanitarian grounds related to medical treatment, education, religious visits, and the interests of civilians”.
