Iraqi authorities confirmed Tuesday evening that Iran has canceled all flights from Tehran to Baghdad and Muscat, effective midnight, attributing the decision to US sanctions on Iran's aviation industry. The Zioneer had earlier reported the cancellation.
Iraqi officials confirmed Tuesday evening that Iran has canceled all flights from Tehran to Baghdad and Muscat, citing U.S. sanctions on Tehran's aviation sector as the reason. The suspension takes effect at midnight tonight local time.
The confirmation follows a day of fast-moving developments. As The Zioneer reported at 21:26 Tuesday, Iran had declared the cancellation of flights to both destinations. Earlier today, at 00:32, The Zioneer reported that Iraq had ordered its airports to block Iranian aircraft and that ground service providers had ceased operations, with Iraqi officials citing compliance with U.S. sanctions. Iran subsequently confirmed the Baghdad route cancellation and expanded the grounding to include the Muscat route. Iraqi authorities have now officially attributed the entire move to American economic penalties targeting Iran's civil aviation industry.
The flight restrictions are part of a broader pattern of Iranian travel curbs. In recent weeks, Iran grounded all domestic flights nationwide and shut airports in Hormozgan province, citing security concerns and the impact of U.S. sanctions, as The Zioneer has previously reported. The U.S. Treasury earlier this month revoked all prior authorizations for Iranian oil exports, deepening economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has not officially linked the flight cancellations to ongoing regional tensions, but the moves coincide with a period of heightened military activity and diplomatic friction between Iran, the U.S., and Gulf states. It remains unclear how long the restrictions will remain in place.
6 developments
- StrongUAE suspends Iranian airlines flights indefinitely, citing US sanctions
- StrongFlights suspended at Erbil airport until further notice, reports say
- StrongAmerica warns citizens to leave Iraq immediately as analysts predict multi-day campaign
- StrongSaudi outlet: US Treasury tells Iraq to seal land crossings with Iran, bar Iranian flights
Source and signal
- Open-source intake