Iraq seeks US exemption from ban on Iranian flights
Ali al-Zaidi government urges dialogue to de-escalate regional tensions amid US sanctions on Iranian airlines.
Iraq is in direct talks with Washington as it seeks to exempt some of its airports from United States measures targeting Iranian airline flights in the region.
Four Iraqi airports suspended all flights to and from Iran on Friday, days after Washington announced new aviation sanctions on any global company doing business with Iranian airlines.
The Iraqi prime minister’s office said on Saturday that US exemptions for Baghdad would allow flights to resume “on humanitarian grounds related to medical treatment, education, religious visits, and the interests of civilians”.
Dozens of scholars and students from the Hawza of Najaf, the oldest and most influential Shia seminary in the world, held a vigil on Saturday evening against the suspension of Iranian flights to Iraq, Shafaq News reported.