Iran · updated 53m ago · 2 min read
Mojtaba Khamenei Warns Iraq: If Iran Cannot Operate Flights, No One Can
Mokhber warns regional air travel will be available to everyone, or to none. Najaf, Erbil, Sulaimaniyah suspend flights with Iran amid US sanctions.
22 outlets told this the same way.
9 of 11 outlets skipped it: najaf suspension removes a diversion option from Baghdad.
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Iran threatens regional air curbs
Iran’s Supreme Leader adviser Mojtaba Khamenei warned that if Tehran cannot operate flights and obtain airport services, no one in the region will be able to do so either, as he put it. Mojtaba Khamenei said, "If Tehran cannot operate flights and obtain airport services, no one in the region will be able to do so either," linking the warning to the regional flight suspensions affecting Iranian routes.
Mohammad Mokhber posted on X that "our strategy is clear: either air travel in the region is available to everyone or it will not be available to anyone." Iraqi airports suspended flights to and from Iran amid American pressure and threats to impose sanctions on any airport that provides services to Iranian airlines, according to the accounts in the sources.
Najaf, Erbil, and Sulaimaniyah suspend
Najaf International Airport suspended all flights to and from Iran, effective today, Friday, after Iraqi authorities directed the Civil Aviation Authority to suspend Iranian flights bound for Baghdad airport starting Wednesday. Najaf Airport director Hussein Mohanna said that "all flights between Najaf Airport and Iran have been stopped" after receiving a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office to the governor.
Reuters sources described that Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports in Iraq also suspended flights to and from Iran starting today, as the measures followed the American threat to impose sanctions on any airport providing services to Iranian airlines. The sources also described that several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, suspended flights to and from Iranian territory while small Iranian airlines continued to operate flights abroad, notably to China and Armenia.
Tickets suspended and retaliation talk
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization announced that following the suspension of flights to Najaf, the sale and issuance of tickets to Iraq, especially Najaf, have been suspended until further notice, and travelers were urged to refrain from purchasing tickets until an official announcement is issued.
“Flight in the region is either free for all, or for no one. If Iran is denied the possibility of flight and access to airport services, no country in the region will have this possibility either.”
ISNA quoted the Civil Aviation Organization on Friday, September 25, saying that airlines are obliged to refund the full value of suspended tickets to passengers without deducting any penalties.
The aviation authority asked airlines to operate flights to move passengers in Iran and Iraq to the border airports in Iran, and vice versa, to enable them to continue their journeys or return to their countries.
Mokhber framed the dispute as a choice between regional access for all or none, warning that "Flight in the region is either free for all, or for no one. If Iran is denied the possibility of flight and access to airport services, no country in the region will have this possibility either."