Najaf airport in Iraq has suspended all flights to and from Iran, after Baghdad ordered the measure as part of its enforcement of US sanctions on Iranian airlines.
Hussein Muhanna, the airport’s director, said the decision followed a directive from the Iraqi prime minister’s office to the governor of Najaf. Iranian airline services were halted early on Thursday morning.
The airport, in the holy city south of Baghdad, is a major gateway for Iranian visitors travelling to sacred sites in Iraq and for Iraqi Shia pilgrims visiting holy cities in Iran. The routes are also used by Iraqi students studying in Iran and patients seeking medical treatment there.
Muhanna said: “All flights were halted between Iran and Najaf airport following a directive from the prime minister’s office to the governor” of Najaf.
The suspension affects travel between two neighbouring Shia-majority countries whose relationship is closely tied through religion and politics. Land routes remain available, but Iraq has been a major destination for Iranian airlines, particularly since Iraqi carriers stopped flying to Iran at the start of the Iran war in February.
Several countries in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, have also moved to enforce the US ban on Iranian airlines. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iranian airlines would “shut down” and warned that countries failing to comply could face expulsion from the US dollar system.
