{"id":31297,"date":"2026-09-29T00:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T21:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/?p=31297"},"modified":"2026-09-29T00:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T21:34:22","slug":"us-sanctions-exception-iran-najaf-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/world\/us-sanctions-exception-iran-najaf-flights\/","title":{"rendered":"The US is preparing a sanctions exemption for flights between Iran and Najaf"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"news-lead\">The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing a limited exemption from sanctions that could allow Iraqi Airways to transport Shia pilgrims between Iran and the Iraqi city of Najaf for a period of one month. This was reported by Reuters on 28 September, citing a source familiar with the discussions. On the same day, the Iraqi state agency announced the resumption of flights.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-summary-box\">\n<p><strong>Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reuters reported that the US is preparing a limited sanctions exemption.<\/li>\n<li>The authorisation may cover Iraqi Airways\u2019 pilgrimage flights.<\/li>\n<li>The initial period of easing is expected to last one month.<\/li>\n<li>The Iraqi state agency has announced the resumption of flights via Najaf.<\/li>\n<li>The full legal terms of the US licence have not been made public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The authorisation must be limited to the route and the carrier<\/h2>\n<p>According to a Reuters source, the US Treasury Department is preparing an exemption specifically for Iraqi Airways. It will cover flights to Najaf \u2014 one of the holiest cities for Shia Muslims \u2014 and is intended to facilitate travel by religious pilgrims.<\/p>\n<p>The agency\u2019s source admitted that the restrictions might be eased for a longer period in future, but did not confirm that such a decision had already been taken. The planned exemption does not mean <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/economics\/ssha-skasuvannya-naftovykh-sanktsiy\/\">lifting of sanctions<\/a> The US versus Iran, or the reopening of all air routes between the two countries.<\/p>\n<h2>Iraq has announced the resumption of flights via Najaf<\/h2>\n<p>On 28 September, the Iraqi State News Agency reported that Iraqi Airways had resumed flights between Najaf and airports in Iran. Iraqi media outlets also reported on the resumption of these routes via the city\u2019s international airport, citing the Ministry of Transport.<\/p>\n<p>This notice describes the actual resumption of air services. However, it does not contain a complete list of the legal conditions under which flights may operate within the scope of the potential US exemption.<\/p>\n<h2>The suspension was attributed to the risks associated with sanctions affecting the provision of the service<\/h2>\n<p>Reuters reported that flights from Iran were suspended on 25 September due to US sanctions. Iraq\u2019s ambassador to Iran <strong>Yasir Abdel-Zahra al-Hajjaj<\/strong> stated that Baghdad had not taken a specific decision to suspend flights: foreign ground-handling companies had refused to provide services due to fears of sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>In early September, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 36 entities linked to Iran\u2019s aviation sector, including 27 Iranian airlines. The department also highlighted the risks to foreign intermediaries and service providers involved in international flights operated by Iranian carriers.<\/p>\n<p>As of the evening of 28 September, there was no publicly available document from the US Treasury setting out the full terms of the exemption. The possibility of extending the authorisation beyond the initial period also remains under discussion.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US is preparing a one-month exemption from sanctions for Iraqi Airways flights between Iran and Najaf for Shia pilgrims.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":207433355,"featured_media":31296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_description":"\u0421\u0428\u0410 \u0433\u043e\u0442\u0443\u044e\u0442\u044c \u043c\u0456\u0441\u044f\u0447\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0432\u0438\u043d\u044f\u0442\u043e\u043a \u0456\u0437 \u0441\u0430\u043d\u043a\u0446\u0456\u0439 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0440\u0435\u0439\u0441\u0456\u0432 Iraqi Airways \u043c\u0456\u0436 \u0406\u0440\u0430\u043d\u043e\u043c \u0442\u0430 \u0415\u043d-\u041d\u0430\u0434\u0436\u0430\u0444\u043e\u043c \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0448\u0438\u0457\u0442\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0445 \u043f\u0430\u043b\u043e\u043c\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0456\u0432.","rank_math_title":"\u0412\u0438\u043d\u044f\u0442\u043e\u043a \u0421\u0428\u0410 \u0456\u0437 \u0441\u0430\u043d\u043a\u0446\u0456\u0439 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0440\u0435\u0439\u0441\u0456\u0432 \u0406\u0440\u0430\u043d\u2014\u0415\u043d-\u041d\u0430\u0434\u0436\u0430\u0444","rank_math_focus_keyword":"\u0441\u0448\u0430","td_subtitle":"","subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[805619],"tags":[805624],"class_list":["post-31297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-805624"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207433355"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31297"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31303,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31297\/revisions\/31303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}