Iraq seeks US exemption from ban on Iranian flights

Ali al-Zaidi’s 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.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran cancels Baghdad, Muscat flights as US aviation sanctions take effectlist 2 of 3Iraqi airports halt Iranian flights after new US aviation sanctionslist 3 of 3Iran war squeezes Iraq’s economy as oil revenues fall and prices riseend of listThe 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”.The statement by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s media office added that Baghdad was working to de-escalate regional tensions, warning that “the continuation of crises further complicates the situation”.It called on all parties to pursue dialogue and negotiations to end the current crisis and conflicts in the interests of the region’s countries and peoples.With Iran flights halted at airports in Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah, passengers have now been forced onto land journeys of at least 12 hours.Neighbours Iraq and Iran are both Shia-majority countries, and flights to and from Najaf in particular carry Iraqi Shia Muslim pilgrims to Iran’s holy cities or Iranians visiting sacred sites in Iraq.Iraq ‘squeezed between’ US and IranOn Saturday, a large number of demonstrators gathered on the streets of Baghdad in opposition to the flight suspensions, in a protest organised by Iran-allied-iraqi-militias" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="209942" data-entity-type="organization">Iran-allied Iraqi militias.Dozens of scholars and students from the Najaf" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="209943" data-entity-type="organization">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.