Iraqi holy city suspends Iranian airlines, enforcing US sanctions

Iraq's Najaf airport, a top destination for Shia pilgrims, suspended all Iranian flights on Friday, enforcing US sanctions and leaving travellers scrambling for solutions.

Airport director Hussein Muhanna told AFP that "all flights were halted between Iran and Najaf airport following a directive from the prime minister's office to the governor" of Najaf.

"All Iraqi airports, including in Kurdistan, have enforced the ban," a government source told AFP.

The airport in the holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, is a major hub for Iranian flights and their main destination in Iraq.

They mainly carry Iraqi Shia pilgrims to Iran's holy cities or Iranians visiting sacred sites in Iraq. The flights also serve Iraqi students studying in Iran, and patients seeking medical treatment there.

Haidar Mansour, 50, was hoping to travel to Iran this month for a kidney transplant after three years of undergoing dialysis.

"People's lives are at risk," Mansour said. "I cannot even walk in the street, it is impossible for me to travel by land."

Instead of a flight lasting only a few hours, passengers will have now to take a land journey of at least 12 hours, depending on the destination.

Across the border, Iraqi doctoral student Saad Saad is stranded in the holy city of Qom after being turned back at the airport from his Friday flight home.

His only option is the longer land route, but taxis and buses are already "packed and prices are rising", he told AFP by phone from Qom.

The bond between Iraq and neighbouring Iran, both Shia-majority countries, runs deep and is shaped by both religion and politics.

Iraq has joined several other countries including the United Arab Emirates in enforcing the US ban, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Iranian airlines will "shut down" on Wednesday.

Although land routes are available, Iraq remains one of the top destinations for Iranian airlines, especially after Iraqi airlines stopped flying to Iran at the start of the Middle East war in February.

An Iraqi employee of an Iranian airline at Najaf airport said Iranian carriers usually operate at least 20 daily flights, but after the suspension, only four flights to other destinations remain scheduled Friday.

"We will stay home from now on. If there are no flights, why should we go to the airport?," he said.

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