Iran weighs Najaf reroute for Baghdad flights

Shafaq News- Tehran/ Baghdad

Baghdad and Muscat airports will stop receiving Iranian flights from midnight Tuesday, Iran time (11:30 p.m. Baghdad time), an Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesperson announced.

Iranian news agencies quoted Majid Akhavan saying authorities were coordinating plans to reroute Baghdad-bound flights to Najaf International Airport. Other international flights, including those to Istanbul, will operate according to schedule. No current restrictions were affecting those services.

On September 21, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iranian airlines would cease operations worldwide within two days.

The development followed an Iranian notification to Iraqi authorities that Iran might stop receiving flights from all countries beginning Tuesday, with the measure potentially lasting several days, an Iraqi security source told Shafaq News.

On September 8, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 36 entities for supporting Iran's aviation sector, which Washington said the Iranian government uses to transport “weapons, personnel and illicit goods.”