The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority blocked the Iranian team's aircraft from entering Basra airport, citing the necessity of complying with American measures. After being turned away, the plane rerouted to Abadan airport across the border, leaving the squad to finish the trip via road. The confrontation stems from broader efforts by Washington to penalize international entities that service Tehran's civil carriers, which earlier led Iraq to halt Iranian flights to Baghdad.
Key points
Airports servicing Iranian civil flights risk secondary sanctions that include losing acc…: Airports servicing Iranian civil flights risk secondary sanctions that include losing access to the United States dollar system.
Iraq is strictly complying with foreign airline bans to safeguard its own facilities from…: Iraq is strictly complying with foreign airline bans to safeguard its own facilities from international financial penalties.
Broad economic restrictions aimed at grounding Iran's civil aviation fleet are directly i…: Broad economic restrictions aimed at grounding Iran's civil aviation fleet are directly impacting regional sports and travel logistics.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Decision by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority reportedly related to US sanctions imposed on Iranian airlines.
Iraq barred a plane carrying Iran’s national football team from landing at Basra airport on Tuesday, a decision by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority linked to sanctions by the United States imposed on Iranian airlines, two Basra airport officials told the Reuters news agency.
The plane returned to Iran and landed at Abadan airport, and the team will now travel by road to Basra, an Iranian consulate official in Basra said.
The Iranian team was travelling to Iraq to participate in a four-nation tournament in Basra also involving Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.
An Iraqi civil aviation official said Iraq made the decision because it could not risk violating US sanctions on Iranian airlines.
The incident highlights the increasing impact of US sanctions on Iranian aviation operations in Iraq.
Washington announced sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23, aiming to ground Iran’s entire civil fleet worldwide.
In September, Iraq ordered the suspension of Iranian flights to Baghdad airport after…
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