ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US Treasury Department on Wednesday removed Iraq's Fly Baghdad from its sanctions list after previously designating the airline over alleged links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In its latest update released Wednesday, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control removed Fly Baghdad from its list of sanctioned entities under its terrorism sanctions program, including several aircraft associated with the company.

The sanctions were imposed in January 2024, alongside a myriad of Iraqi political and security figures, under the accusation of transporting weapons and other military tools on behalf of the IRGC.

The delisting comes following Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's visit to Washington where he met with US President Donald Trump as well as a series of high-ranking officials and corporations.

The visit saw the signing of dozens of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between Iraqi firms and institutions with their American counterparts.

Head of Fly Baghdad Basheer al-Shabbani, however, was not removed from the sanctions list, instead, the reason for his designation was changed from links to Fly Baghdad to links to the IRGC-Quds Force.

Since assuming power after a drawn-out selection process by Iraq's ruling Coordination Framework, Zaidi has earned praise in Washington for his efforts to restrict weapons to the state, a sweeping anti-corruption drive, and an openness to cooperation in the energy sector.

The disarmament initiative is heavily backed by Washington, which has long pushed for the groups, especially the Iran-aligned ones, to be dismantled and banned.

On Tuesday, Trump said that talks with Tehran are “moving along very nicely,” warning that Iran would get hit “really hard” if a deal is not reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “soon.” 

Speaking to reporters about how negotiations with Iran are proceeding, Trump said: “We’re moving along very nicely. We’ll find out. We’ll know in 48 hours.”