Get you up to speed: Iraqi airports halt Iranian flights after new US aviation sanctions
Four Iraqi airports, including Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, and Sulaimaniyah, have suspended all flights to and from Iran following new US aviation sanctions against Iranian airlines. The suspension was confirmed by Iraq’s state media and is part of increased measures to isolate Iran from the global economy.
Iraq’s four main airports have ceased operations for flights to and from Iran as part of a wider enforcement of US aviation sanctions that began in August. The situation has significantly impacted Iraqi Shia Muslim pilgrims who rely on these flights to access holy sites in Iran, with travel now necessitating a land journey of at least 12 hours.
Iraq’s central government has not issued an official statement regarding the suspension of flights, likely to avoid offending pro-Iranian factions in parliament. Iranian airlines must now rely on limited routes, with the situation expected to further strain air traffic and complicate travel between Iran and Iraq.
What remains unclear — Iraq’s central government has not provided an official statement regarding the reasons for the flight suspensions.
Iraqi airports suspend flights to Iran following new US aviation sanctions
News|US-Israel war on IranIraqi airports halt Iranian flights after new US aviation sanctions
Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, and Sulaimaniyah airports suspend flights as US ramps up pressure on Iran’s aviation sector.
Published On 25 Sep 202625 Sep 2026
Published On 25 Sep 202625 Sep 2026Four Iraqi airports have suspended all flights to and from Iran days after the United States announced new aviation sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines.
It is the latest ramping up of sanctions since the US launched Operation Economic Outcast in August in an effort to isolate Iran from the global economy.
Iraqi state media said flights will no longer be operating from Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports.
Iraq was one of the top destinations for Iranian airlines, especially after Iraqi airlines stopped flying to Iran at the start of the US-Israel war on Iran in February.
Passengers travelling between Iran and Iraq will now be forced to make a land journey of at least 12 hours, depending on the destination.
Najaf airport
Iraq’s state news agency reported the suspension at Najaf international airport earlier on Friday.
Airport director Hussein Muhanna told the AFP news agency that “all flights were halted between Iran and Najaf airport following a directive from the prime minister’s office to the governor” of Najaf.
Iraq and neighbouring Iran are both Shia-majority countries, and flights to and from Najaf carry Iraqi Shia Muslim pilgrims to Iran’s holy cities or Iranians visiting sacred sites in Iraq.
In a post on X, the Iranian Consulate in Najaf responded to the suspension of flights to and from Iran, saying “Najaf international airport, the shrine of the first Imam of the Shia, and the capital of their last Imam, is closed to the largest Shia country in the world?!”
An Iraqi employee of an Iranian airline at Najaf airport told AFP Iranian carriers usually operate at least 20 daily flights, but after the suspension, only four flights to other destinations remained scheduled on Friday.
Shia pilgrims march to Karbala to observe Arbaeen that marks the end of a 40-day mourning period following the Day of Ashura, in Najaf, Iraq, on July 28, 2026 [Anmar Khalil/AP]
Several other regional countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have either cancelled or restricted flights to Iran to enforce US aviation sanctions.
That is despite the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council warning neighbouring nations against imposing a US flight ban.
Iranian airlines are now relying on a few reduced routes, including Turkiye, Russia, China and Armenia, to remain operational.
“We cannot say that Iran is totally cut off from air traffic, but shrunk considerably,” said WTX News’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Tehran.
Reporting from Baghdad, WTX News’s Jack Hewson said Iraq’s central government has made no statement about the flight suspensions, likely because it “doesn’t want to antagonise” pro-Iranian factions in Iraq’s parliament.
Explaining the country’s decision to comply with the US move, Hewson said: “Companies providing ground services, like refuelling, baggage, it appears, are not willing to risk secondary sanctions and being frozen out of the international US dollar system.”
“Iraq’s in a very difficult position,” Hewson added. “It’s tied to the US, but it’s also tied to Iran. And at times like these, it’s squeezed between the two.”