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Iraq’s Najaf International Airport suspends flights to and from Iran

The airport froze all flights to and from Iran as of 2am on Friday (23:00 GMT on Thursday) until further notice, according to management.

Two further Iraqi airports reported to have suspended flights to and from Iran

Iraq’s Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports have suspended Iranian flights, two sources have told the Reuters news agency.

The move means that, according to sources and state media, flights to and from Iran are suspended from all four Iraqi airports at which they were operating: Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah.

Iraq’s state news agency reported the suspension at Najaf International Airport earlier today.

Two separate sources told Reuters earlier in the week that Iraq ordered its civil aviation authority to halt Iranian flights to Baghdad airport from Wednesday. The sources said the government was also discussing diverting Iranian flights from Baghdad to Najaf.

Washington had announced it would impose sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23, with the aim of grounding Iran’s entire civilian fleet worldwide.

If Iran can’t have flights, then no one in the region will have flights either: Adviser to supreme leader

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, says that if Iran cannot have flights and receive airport services, then no one in the region will have flights to their countries either.

In a statement on his X account, Mokhber said: “Aligning with the United States in implementing hostile policies will remain in the memory of the Iranian people. Nevertheless, our strategy on this matter is clear: flights in the region are either open to everyone or to no one. If Iran is denied the ability to fly and receive airport services, no country in the region will have access to these facilities either.”

Earlier, we reported that Iraq’s Najaf International Airport has suspended flights to and from Iran, while the United Arab Emirates has halted flights operated by Iranian airlines in compliance with US sanctions.

Iran made a similar statement in early March 2026, when it decided to respond to the Israeli bombardment of Tehran's oil depots: "If we can't have oil, then no one can."

Iran threatens widespread disruption as Iraq halts Iran flights

Iraq has suspended Iranian flights at all four airports where they were operating following US sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector. Iran has warned that regional aviation could face wider disruption if its carriers are denied airport access.

Iran says ticket sales for Iraq flights suspended until further notice

Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority says it has suspended ticket sales for flights to Iraq until further notice.

The decision follows the suspension of flights to Iraq’s Najaf starting Friday, the Iranian semiofficial Tasnim reported.

Earlier, two sources told the Reuters news agency that Iraq’s Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports had also suspended Iranian flights.

“Given the presence of passengers at airports in both countries, airlines have been asked to facilitate passenger movement by scheduling and operating domestic flights to and from Iran’s border airports,” Tasnim said.

The US had announced it would impose sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23, with the aim of grounding Iran’s entire civilian fleet worldwide.

Senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader criticises Iraqi PM over halted flights

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, has criticised Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi over the suspension of flights between Najaf and Iran, portraying the move as part of an effort to weaken what Tehran calls the “unity of the fronts”.

“The enemy, seeking to compensate for its defeat on the battlefield, is trying to dismantle the unity of the fronts from within,” Velayati said in a post on X, adding that the division had “appeared today in Najaf”.

Addressing al-Zaidi directly, Velayati said: “Legitimacy does not come from Washington; it comes from the soil of Najaf and the blood of the martyrs.”

Najaf international airport announced on Friday that all flights to and from Iran had been suspended until further notice. The airport did not give a reason for the move, but it came amid broader restrictions on Iranian airlines after Washington expanded sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector. Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah also suspended Iranian flights.

Iran-backed Iraqi group calls for airport sit-ins over Iran flight ban

Akram al-Kaabi, secretary-general of the Iran-backed Iraqi armed group Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, has called on Iraqis to prepare for sit-ins at the country’s airports unless flights to and from Iran resume.

Four Iraqi airports suspended all flights to and from Iran today, days after the United States announced new aviation sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines.

Al-Kaabi accused Iraqi political forces of accepting US pressure and said suspending flights amounted to taking part in what he called an “unjust blockade” on Iran.

“If the matter is not addressed and there is no departure from American hegemony, and the smooth flow of flights with the Islamic Republic does not return, then we call on the free Iraqi people … to prepare for sit-ins at Iraqi airports until this unjust American decision is broken,” he said in a statement.

He said the restrictions were preventing millions of Iraqis and Iranians from visiting religious sites and were causing economic and social harm.

Two-way corridor opening up in Strait of Hormuz as gasoline moves from Syria to Iraq

Petrol from Iraq to Syria has begun moving by road, establishing a two-way energy corridor through a route Baghdad has used to export fuel since the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The first cargo, about 32,800 tonnes on board the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Avanti, was unloaded at Syria’s Baniyas refinery before being loaded into trucks this week, according to Tareq Shallash, director of the Refining Directorate at state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company, who spoke with Reuters.

Shallash said 77 tanker trucks had already left Baniyas for the Iraqi border and loading was continuing. Further shipments were expected, he said.

“A contract was signed between SOMO and the Qatari company to supply Iraq with improved gasoline through the port of Baniyas by road tankers,” Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesperson Saleem al-Rikabi told Reuters.

The petrol was neither produced in Syria nor drawn from stocks intended for the Syrian market. The operation is being conducted under a transit contract between the Syrian Petroleum Company and Qatar’s UCC Holding, which Shallash said was supplying the fuel and overseeing transportation.

The route had previously carried fuel oil from Iraq to Syrian ports before shipment by sea. Shallash said future agreements could expand the corridor to other petroleum products, crude oil or other goods.

Militia activities in Iraq ‘unlikely’ to change in the coming months

The presence and activities of Iran-aligned militias in Iraq are unlikely to change in the coming months, according to Kamaran Palani, a senior fellow at the Middle East Peace and Security Forum.

Palani said that there might be “a new name for their administrative presence, but on the ground, the motivations and priorities will remain the same.”

Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline was struck by drones launched from Iraq. No group has claimed responsibility, as the Iraqi government continues an investigation into the attack.

“The Iraqi government would be very happy to say this is a step towards declaring more sovereignty, but I don’t think this would convince the militias. The militias have other priorities and motivations in the country,” Palani said.

The Iraqi prime minister announced earlier this week, June 30, 2027, as a new deadline for disarming Iraqi militias.