Iraq allows 40 daily Iranian flights to Najaf after the U.S. exempted holy sites from sanctions

Iraq has agreed to allow Iranian airlines to operate 40 daily flights to Najaf International Airport, after the United States approved the exemption of flights to holy sites from the sanctions on Iran, as Al Jazeera reports.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein said he had met on Thursday in Washington with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and discussed the impact of sanctions on Najaf Airport. “He understood the Iraqi request and agreed to exempt flights to the holy sites from the sanctions,” Hussein wrote in a post, describing the city of Najaf as vital for Muslim pilgrims.

The exemption does not include the Iranian airline Mahan Air, which remains under U.S. sanctions. Hussein thanked the U.S. government for its understanding, saying Baghdad remains committed to the fight against the ISIS group and to keeping “the decision of war and peace” in the hands of the state and its constitutional institutions.

The news comes after a week of Iraqi diplomatic efforts to protect religious air traffic to the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, while new U.S. sanctions have forced several countries in the region to suspend flights with Iranian airlines. The decision is expected to bring relief to hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims who visit the holy shrines in Iraq every year.