Iraq announced a US sanctions exemption allowing Iranian airlines, excluding Mahan Air, up to 40 daily flights to and from Najaf. The October 2 agreement followed disruption when ground handlers withdrew services. Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah routes remained suspended. The ceiling describes the permission granted, rather than a count of flights already operating.
Iraq announced on October 2 that it had obtained a US exemption allowing Iranian airlines up to 40 daily flights to and from Najaf International Airport. Najaf, in Iraq, is a pilgrimage destination containing the shrine of Imam Ali. The office of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said the agreement followed direct negotiations with Washington. Mahan Air, an Iranian airline, was explicitly excluded.[1], [2]
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on 36 entities connected with Iran’s aviation sector on September 8. Foreign ground-handling companies subsequently stopped supporting Iranian carriers, fearing exposure to sanctions, and their services to four Iraqi airports ceased. Iran urged Iraq on October 1 to lift the restrictions, saying pilgrims, patients, students and business travellers were affected. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein described the Iraqi-US partnership in terms of mutual respect and religious freedom.[1]
Iranian airline flights to Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah remained suspended. Passengers had turned to overland journeys taking at least 12 hours. Najaf services had restarted on Monday evening, according to the Iraqi News Agency. The announced 40-flight ceiling specifies the new permission; no flight count established that it was already fully used.[1]
Iran’s ambassador in Baghdad, Mohammad Kazem al-Sadegh, estimated that before the interruption Iranian airlines operated about 25 daily flights to Najaf and 15 to Baghdad. He put their combined daily passenger traffic in both directions at 12,000–13,000. Those estimates describe traffic before the suspension.[1]
