Iraq seeks US exemption to resume Iranian flights at four airports

September 26, 2026 at 10:35 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Iraq is in direct talks with Washington to exempt some of its airports from US measures targeting Iranian airline flights. Four Iraqi airports suspended all flights to and from Iran on Friday after Washington announced new aviation sanctions on any global company doing business with Iranian airlines. The Iraqi prime minister's office said on Saturday that US exemptions for Baghdad would allow flights to resume on humanitarian grounds related to medical treatment, education, religious visits, and the interests of civilians.

Key Facts

Four Iraqi airports — Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah — suspended all flights to and from Iran on Friday.
The Iraqi prime minister's office said on Saturday that US exemptions for Baghdad would allow flights to resume on humanitarian grounds related to medical treatment, education, religious visits, and the interests of civilians.
Iraq's ambassador to Tehran, Yasser al-Hajjaj, said the suspension of flights between the two countries would be temporary and not affect relations.
About 100,000 Iraqi students study at Iranian institutions, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis live in Iran, with thousands of daily crossings.

Flight Suspensions

Four Iraqi airports suspended all flights to and from Iran on Friday, days after Washington announced new aviation sanctions on any global company doing business with Iranian airlines. The airports affected are Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah. With Iran flights halted, passengers have been forced onto land journeys of at least 12 hours. Flights to and from Najaf in particular carry Iraqi Shia Muslim pilgrims to Iran's holy cities or Iranians visiting sacred sites in Iraq.

Iraqi Government Response

The Iraqi prime minister's office said on Saturday that US exemptions for Baghdad would allow flights to resume on humanitarian grounds related to medical treatment, education, religious visits, and the interests of civilians. The statement by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's media office added that Baghdad was working to de-escalate regional tensions, warning that the continuation of crises further complicates the situation. It called on all parties to pursue dialogue and negotiations to end the current crisis and conflicts in the interests of the region's countries and peoples. Iraq's ambassador to Tehran, Yasser al-Hajjaj, said that the suspension of flights between the two countries would be temporary and not affect relations.

Public and Religious Reaction

On Saturday, a large number of demonstrators gathered on the streets of Baghdad in opposition to the flight suspensions, in a protest organised by Iran-allied Iraqi militias. Dozens of scholars and students from the Hawza of Najaf, the oldest and most influential Shia seminary in the world, held a vigil on Saturday evening against the suspension of Iranian flights to Iraq, Shafaq News reported. Reading out a statement, the seminary's Scholarly Assembly condemned the halt of flights, saying it came when the peoples of the region are most in need of strengthening the bonds of brotherhood, and urged the government to maintain the independence and sovereignty of Iraqi decision-making.