Iraqi 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.

An Airbus A320 aircraft operated by Iranian airline Qeshm Air flies over Shamiya district on its landing approach to Najaf international airport in central Iraq [File: Ahmad Al Rubaye/AFP]

Four 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.

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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.

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 Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Tehran.

Reporting from Baghdad, Al Jazeera’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.”

由于美国加大对伊朗航空业的压力，巴格达、纳杰夫、埃尔比勒和苏莱曼尼亚机场暂停航班。

一架由伊朗格什姆航空公司运营的空客A320飞机飞越伊拉克中部纳杰夫国际机场的沙米亚地区，准备降落。[图片：Ahmad Al Rubaye/AFP]

在美国宣布对与伊朗航空公司有业务往来的全球公司实施新的航空制裁几天后，伊拉克四个机场暂停了所有往返伊朗的航班。

这是自美国8月份发起“经济排斥行动”以来，对伊朗实施的最新一轮制裁升级。“经济排斥行动”旨在将伊朗与全球经济隔离开来。

伊朗威胁执行美国航空公司制裁的国家（共3条，第1条）

美国对伊朗的三项航空制裁措施之二扰乱了伊朗的航班，迫使旅客改走陆路出行。

问题 3（共 3 个）：伊朗为何威胁地区机场？其影响可能是什么？

伊拉克国家媒体称，巴格达、纳杰夫、埃尔比勒和苏莱曼尼亚机场将不再运营航班。

伊拉克是伊朗航空公司的主要目的地之一，尤其是在2月份美以对伊朗发动战争后，伊拉克航空公司停止飞往伊朗的航班之后。

往返于伊朗和伊拉克之间的旅客现在将被迫进行至少 12 小时的陆路旅程，具体时间取决于目的地。

伊拉克国家通讯社周五早些时候报道了纳杰夫国际机场暂停营业的消息。

机场主任侯赛因·穆汉纳告诉法新社，“根据总理办公室向纳杰夫省长的指示，伊朗和纳杰夫机场之间的所有航班都已停飞”。

伊拉克和邻国伊朗都是什叶派占多数的国家，往返纳杰夫的航班运送伊拉克什叶派穆斯林朝圣者前往伊朗的圣城，或者运送伊朗人前往伊拉克的圣地。

在 X 网站上，伊朗驻纳杰夫领事馆就暂停往返伊朗的航班一事做出回应，称“纳杰夫国际机场，什叶派第一位伊玛目的陵墓，以及最后一位伊玛目的首都，竟然对世界上最大的什叶派国家关闭了？！”

一名在纳杰夫机场工作的伊朗航空公司伊拉克籍员工告诉法新社，伊朗航空公司通常每天至少运营 20 个航班，但在停飞之后，周五只剩下四个飞往其他目的地的航班。

2026年7月28日，在伊拉克纳杰夫，什叶派朝圣者前往卡尔巴拉参加阿尔巴因节，标志着阿舒拉节后40天哀悼期的结束。[安玛尔·哈利勒/美联社]

包括阿联酋和卡塔尔在内的其他几个地区国家已经取消或限制了飞往伊朗的航班，以执行美国的航空制裁。

尽管伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书警告邻国不要对美国实施航班禁令，但伊朗仍然采取了行动。

伊朗航空公司目前依靠少数缩减的航线维持运营，包括飞往土耳其、俄罗斯、中国和亚美尼亚的航线。

“我们不能说伊朗完全与空中交通隔绝，但空中交通确实大幅减少，”半岛电视台记者西内姆·科塞奥卢从德黑兰报道说。

半岛电视台记者杰克·休森从巴格达报道称，伊拉克中央政府尚未就航班停飞发表任何声明，可能是因为政府“不想激怒”伊拉克议会中亲伊朗的派别。

休森在解释该国决定遵守美国举措时说：“提供地面服务的公司，如加油、行李运输等，似乎不愿意冒着受到二级制裁和被排除在国际美元体系之外的风险。”

休森补充说：“伊拉克处境非常艰难。它与美国关系密切，但也与伊朗关系密切。在这样的时刻，它被夹在两者之间。”