Iran airlines resume flights to Najaf after US carves out exemption

The Trump administration granted Baghdad a narrow waiver allowing sanctioned Iranian carriers to fly 40 daily flights to Iraq's holiest city—a move balancing US pressure on Iran with Iraq's internal stability.

Iranian airlines resumed flights to Iraq's holy city of Najaf on Sunday after the United States granted Baghdad a sanctions exemption allowing most Iranian carriers to operate to the Shia shrine destination. Caspian Airlines operated the first flight, landing at 5:15 p.m. local time on October 4. The agreement, announced Friday by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's office, permits up to 40 daily flights to and from Najaf, explicitly excluding Iran's Mahan Air.

The exemption resolved a crisis that erupted when US sanctions on Iranian aviation took effect September 23. Iraq initially enforced the ban on all Iranian carriers, forcing airports including Najaf—a major hub for Iran-Iraq travel—to suspend operations. Ground-handling firms at other Iraqi airports ceased servicing Iranian aircraft over secondary sanctions concerns, leaving 12,000 to 13,000 daily travelers stranded.

Baghdad negotiated the carve-out after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on October 1. The Iraqi side framed the request as humanitarian: exemptions for religious pilgrims visiting Imam Ali's shrine, medical patients, and students. Najaf qualifies partly because it uses Iraqi ground-handling staff and can process payments in euros, dinars, and tomans rather than dollars, sidestepping secondary sanctions exposure.

US officials greeted the request cautiously. A Reuters source reported that keeping the full ban risked uniting Shia followers loyal to Iran's supreme leader with those following Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani against the Baghdad government, undermining Washington's broader effort to reduce Iranian influence. The Trump administration had just withdrawn US forces from Iraq, reducing appetite for a crisis with the government over travel restrictions. The exemption remains narrow and temporary—it does not extend to other Iraqi airports and explicitly bars Mahan Air, preserving the core sanctions pressure.

Chanakya's Move

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This is a tactical US move to preserve leverage while managing collateral damage. The Trump administration is executing a sustained economic pressure campaign against Iran's aviation sector, but it faced a genuine dilemma: enforcing sanctions on pilgrimage to Islam's holiest Shia shrine risked creating internal Iraqi instability and united opposition from both Iran-aligned and Iraq-aligned Shia communities. By granting a narrow, monitored exemption to Najaf—and only Najaf—US Treasury preserved the core sanctions regime while signaling to Baghdad that compliance on secondary sanctions enforcement still matters. The carve-out is temporary (details on duration remain unclear) and explicitly excludes Mahan Air and broader Iraqi airports, maintaining asymmetric pressure. Iraq's counterplay was defensive diplomacy: Prime Minister al-Zaidi negotiated a space for maneuver without breaking with Washington, framing the exemption as humanitarian rather than political. He avoids a full breach with the US while claiming a win for his domestic constituency. The risk: if US pressure on Iran intensifies or if the exemption is reversed, Iraq faces renewed backlash from Shia groups and Tehran, putting al-Zaidi's government between fire again.

How could this affect you

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Direct

Shia pilgrims, medical patients, and students traveling between Iran and Iraq

The exemption restores air access that was suddenly cut off in late September, allowing resumption of essential travel for religious, medical, and educational purposes without immediate risk of secondary sanctions exposure for Iraqi handlers.

Likely

Iraqi government managing US-Iran balance

The narrow exemption preserves some pilgrimage traffic while maintaining broader US sanctions, reducing domestic backlash from Shia constituencies without significantly undercutting Trump administration pressure on Tehran's economy.

Likely

Iranian aviation sector under US sanctions

The exemption applies only to Najaf and only to most carriers (excluding Mahan Air). It does not reverse the underlying US campaign against Iranian airlines, which aims to constrain Iran's economy and limit its regional mobility.

Possible

Other Iraq-Iran border crossings and airports

By limiting the exemption to Najaf and explicitly requiring Iraqi ground staff and non-dollar transactions, the US signals that future requests for broader relief face high bars and may prompt similar operational constraints on other routes.