Iraqi airports suspend flights to Iran — armed group calls for protests, Velayati criticizes Iraqi prime minister

Four Iraqi airports, including Najaf International Airport, suspended all flights to and from Iran on Friday, days after the United States announced sanctions against any global company doing business with Iranian airlines. The move hits millions of Iraqi and Iranian pilgrims who visit holy sites in both countries.

In protest, Akram al-Kaabi, secretary-general of the Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, called on Iraqis to organize peaceful protests in front of airports until flights to Iran resume. Al-Kaabi accused Iraqi political forces of bowing to U.S. pressure and called the flight suspension “a betrayal of religious and humanitarian values.”

Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, sharply criticized Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi over the suspension. “The enemy, seeking to compensate for defeat on the battlefield, is trying to destroy the unity of the Islamic nation through economic pressure and sanctions,” Velayati said, addressing al-Zaidi directly: “Legitimacy does not come from Washington; it comes from the Iraqi people.”

The escalation comes as Tehran and Washington weigh a phased agreement to end the seven-month war, with the Strait of Hormuz as the central point of negotiations. On Thursday, Iran suspended ticket sales for flights to Iraq, warning airlines of the risk of U.S. sanctions, as Al Jazeera reports.