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 the US threatened secondary sanctions against airports and service providers that handle Iranian carriers.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that airports servicing Iranian airlines could face sanctions, including exclusion from the US dollar system.
This warning was part of a broader effort to tighten restrictions on Iran’s transport sector and on foreign entities providing services to sanctioned Iranian airlines.
Intensified sanctions are part of a US bid to squeeze Iran economically as President Donald Trump struggles to end the war that the US and Israel launched on the country in February.
Source: www.aljazeera.com
