Iraq says gets US exemption for Iranian flights to and from holy city

Baghdad announced Friday that Washington had granted it a sanctions exemption allowing Iranian airlines to operate dozens of flights daily to and from Najaf International Airport, days after a similar exemption was granted to Iraqi Airways.

All Iraqi airports began complying last week with US sanctions imposed on Iran’s entire aviation sector, causing major disruptions at Najaf airport in southern Iraq, which serves as a key gateway for Shiite pilgrims visiting religious shrines.

Iranian airlines are primarily responsible for transporting visitors from the Islamic Republic, as well as Iraqis traveling to Iran, whether for religious visits, medical purposes or education.

The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zeidi said in a statement Friday that an agreement had been reached "allowing Iranian airlines, excluding Mahan Air, to operate 40 flights per day to and from Najaf International Airport."

The agreement followed efforts aimed at "facilitating the movement of passengers and visitors arriving in or departing from Iraq, and supporting humanitarian, medical, tourism and educational needs," while praising "the positive response shown by the US government" to the request.

The government announcement came after Iraqi official sources confirmed Tuesday that Washington had granted Iraqi Airways an exemption to operate flights in both directions between Najaf and Iran, specifically to transport Iranian pilgrims to religious shrines.

Washington had given foreign companies assisting Iran's aviation sector until September 23 to comply with the ban, including by stopping the supply of jet fuel to Iranian aircraft.

Failure to comply exposes those companies to the risk of being blacklisted themselves, potentially cutting them off from the dollar-based financial system.

The suspension of flights forced people wishing to travel between Iran and Iraq to seek alternatives, including lengthy overland journeys, as foreign airlines suspended flights to Iran following the start of the US-‘Israeli’ war against the Islamic Republic in February.

Baghdad, which has been a theater of competition between the United States and Iran since the US invasion in 2003, has long sought to balance its relations with the two powers, both of which wield political and economic influence in Iraq.