Najaf suspends Iranian flights as Iraq enforces US sanctions

Najaf airport, a major destination for Shia pilgrims, suspended all Iranian flights on Friday as Iraq enforced US sanctions on Iranian airlines, according to AFP reports carried by Channels Television. Airport director Hussein Muhanna said the halt followed a directive from the prime minister’s office to the governor of Najaf. A government source said the ban had been enforced at all Iraqi airports, including those in Kurdistan.

Iranian airlines’ flights to Najaf serve pilgrims, students and patients travelling between the two countries. The suspension has disrupted people who rely on air links for religious visits, education and medical treatment. Haidar Mansour, who said he had been receiving dialysis for three years while hoping to travel to Iran for a kidney transplant, told AFP that his travel options were now severely limited.

Passengers will have to use land routes, which can take at least 12 hours depending on the destination. Iraqi doctoral student Assad Jabbar said he had been turned back at the airport in Qom while trying to return home. He told AFP that buses and taxis were already full and prices were rising.

Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, had said Iranian airlines would be shut down on Wednesday. The report said Iraq joined other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, in enforcing the ban. An employee of an Iranian airline said carriers normally operated at least 20 daily flights at Najaf, but only four flights to other destinations remained scheduled on Friday.