ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq announced on Friday that it had secured a US sanctions waiver allowing Iranian carriers to operate up to 40 flights daily to and from Najaf International Airport per day, excluding Mahan Air, a week after flights were suspended.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said the diplomatic efforts were aimed at easing travel for passengers, particularly for humanitarian, medical, tourism and educational purposes.
Zaidi’s efforts have "resulted in an agreement allowing Iranian airlines to operate 40 daily flights to and from Najaf International Airport, with the exception of Mahan Air," his office said in a statement.
Mahan Air has been under US sanctions since 2011 over what Washington says is its support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), including transporting personnel, weapons and military equipment. The Iraqi statement did not specify why the airline was excluded from the waiver.
Commercial flights between Iran and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, were suspended last week as Iraqi airports moved to comply with tightened US sanctions targeting Tehran’s aviation sector.
The suspension triggered demonstrations in several Iraqi cities, including Baghdad, Basra, Maysan and Najaf, as passengers and others called for flights to resume.
Najaf is home to major Shiite Muslim shrines and receives millions of pilgrims from around the world, particularly Iran.
The agreement follows an earlier measure on Tuesday, when the US Treasury Department granted Iraqi Airways a highly restrictive license to operate flights between Najaf and Iran for religious pilgrims, valid until the authorized transactions are completed or October 28, whichever comes first.
In the statement, Zaidi "commended the positive response shown by the United States government toward Iraqi efforts and its cooperation in granting the required waiver,” noting that it facilitates the movement of visitors and passengers, particularly for medical treatment, religious pilgrimage and tourism.
Zaidi said air travel was not merely transport between two airports but a bridge connecting peoples, noting that travelers include patients seeking treatment, pilgrims heading to holy shrines and families seeking reunification.
The prime minister also said Iraq bases its foreign relations on the interests of its people and is committed to building balanced ties with other countries to facilitate citizens' lives and maintain connections among nations.
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