Iran fumes as US sanctions stop flights to holy city in Iraq

Iran expressed fury on Friday after the United States imposed sanctions on air travel, disrupting flights to the sacred Shiite city of Najaf in Iraq. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation announced that ticket sales to Najaf had been halted, a ripple effect of the US sanctions felt throughout the Middle East. A consulate in Najaf voiced outrage on social media, questioning how it could be that the city, home to the grave of the first Shiite Imam, was now off-limits to Iran.

Najaf is revered as the final resting place of Imam Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. The city also hosted a poignant procession in June when the remains of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, passed through on his way to a funeral in Iraq. Meanwhile, flights to Baghdad were halted on Wednesday.

Initially, state media had maintained that the route to Najaf would remain open, but this assertion was later withdrawn. The sanctions are a component of the US strategy to economically isolate Iran and compel concessions in the ongoing conflict. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday that companies engaging with Iranian airlines would be "knocked out of the dollar system."

In response, the United Arab Emirates suspended all flights operated by Iranian airlines to and from the country on Thursday, pending further notice. The sanctions have also impacted flights between Iran and Oman.