Plane carrying Iran’s football team barred from landing in Iraq

An Iran Air Boeing aircraft parked at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran. Photo: AFP Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq barred on Tuesday a plane carrying Iran’s national football team from landing at Basra International Airport, turning the aircraft back due to strict compliance with US sanctions on Iranian airlines. The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) denied landing rights to the flight carrying the Iranian team. The aircraft successfully altered its course and landed at Abadan Airport in Iran. An official from the Iranian consulate confirmed that the team would continue their journey to Basra by road. Along with Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine, the Iranian national team was headed to Basra to participate in a four-nation competition. Iraq could not risk violating the harsh secondary penalties imposed by Washington, according to an Iraqi civil aviation official. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned earlier that any foreign airports or service providers that assist sanctioned Iranian carriers will be excluded from the US currency system, a step aimed at grounding Iran’s civil fleet worldwide. After Iraq previously secured a limited humanitarian exemption allowing specific civilian flights from Iran to Najaf, other major Iraqi airports in Basra, Erbil, and Baghdad remain restricted to avoid US financial penalties.