Iraqi airlines win US waiver to resume Iran-Najaf flights
The US has granted Iraqi airlines a sanctions waiver allowing them to carry Iranian pilgrims to and from the Iraqi city of Najaf, holy to Shia Muslims, an Iraqi government official and an airport source told AFP.
“Iraqi airlines have obtained a conditional exemption to operate flights between Najaf and Iran,” the official said on Tuesday.
“The airport was informed yesterday that Iraqi airlines can fly to Iran but there is no schedule yet,” the airport source added.
The Iraqi government said last week that it was in talks with the US to seek an exemption after sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector took effect on Wednesday.
Iranian airlines mainly carry Iraqi Shia pilgrims to Iran’s holy cities and Iranians visiting sacred sites in Iraq. The flights also serve Iraqi students studying in Iran and patients seeking medical treatment there.
Iraq joined several countries, including the UAE, in enforcing the US ban after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iranian airlines would be “shut down".
Iraq’s state news agency reported on Tuesday that flights between Najaf al-Ashraf Airport and Iranian airports had resumed following several days of disruption and protests over the flight cancellations. Iraqi Airways restored the services, according to the state news agency.
The report said the flights resumed after more than 100 people demonstrated outside Najaf airport, with protesters waving Iraqi flags and calling for flights to Iran to be restored. Demonstrations were also reported in southern Iraq, where protesters called for an end to the “siege".
Reuters separately quoted a person with direct knowledge of the matter as saying that US President Donald Trump’s administration was set to grant a limited waiver to its Iran sanctions program to allow flights carrying religious pilgrims between Iran and Iraq.
The source, who is involved in the deliberations, said the US Treasury Department waiver would allow Iraqi Airways to operate flights between Iran and Najaf for one month, with a more permanent waiver potentially following.
The source said the move aimed to ease pressure on the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who has sought to deepen ties with Washington while also balancing a strong relationship with Iraq’s influential neighbor, Iran.
Trump’s effort to impose a crippling economic blockade on Iran is forcing regional governments to scale back ties with Iran, creating potential backlash against those states, particularly those that balance their ties with both Washington and Tehran.
Bessent said on Saturday that he had sent envoys around the world to pressure countries to economically isolate Iran, hailing the new restrictions targeting the country’s airlines and banks.
The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said on Monday that it had filed a formal complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) over the US restrictions and was pursuing diplomatic efforts to restore suspended flight routes.
Abouzar Shiroudi said that Iran had also sent letters to countries where flights had been suspended, seeking explanations for the cancellations. Preventing flights amounted to a violation of bilateral agreements under which countries allow each other’s airlines to use their airports, he said.