According to the official Iraqi News Agency, the flights restarted late on Monday after Najaf and three other Iraqi airports temporarily suspended the flights amid fears over secondary sanctions by the US Treasury Department.
The report noted that “diligent efforts” by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi secured resumption of normal air traffic between the two Muslim neighboring countries.
The development came after Iraqi Ambassador to Iran Yasser Abdulzahra al-Hajjaj said that Najaf International Airport would soon resume normal operation of commercial flights between Iraq and Iran.
“The Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, is making continuous efforts to resume air travel between the two neighboring countries,” Hajjaj noted.
He added that the Baghdad government took no decision to suspend Iranian flights, but it was rather foreign ground-handling companies which refrained from providing services due to fears of US sanctions.
Earlier on Monday, Iraqi people from every walk of life held massive protests across the country to condemn the Baghdad government’s decision to suspend all flights to and from Iran, according to Press TV.
The nationwide protests were held outside Najaf International Airport, the southern city of Nasiriyah, the holy shrine city of Karbala and the southeastern city of Amarah.
MNA
