ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US Treasury Department on Tuesday granted Iraqi Airways a one-month sanctions waiver for Iranian flights to operate to and from Najaf International Airport, a license issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said.  

Washington in late September announced that it would impose sanctions on global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23, in a move aimed at grounding the Islamic republic’s entire civilian fleet worldwide. 

The license for Iraqi Airways comes as the suspension of flights to and from several Iraqi airports has drawn the ire of several political actors and armed groups, including Kataib Hezbollah, among the strongest pro-Iran armed groups. 

The flights “may only depart from and return to Najaf International Airport in Iraq, may only carry cargo consisting of personal baggage and items necessary for flight safety, and may only carry Iranian national passengers who are religious pilgrims,” read the OFAC statement. 

It noted that the flights are only allowed to carry cargo “consisting of personal baggage and items necessary for flight safety.” 

“This License may be revoked or modified at any time,” the statement clarified. 

On Monday, a senior Kataib Hezbollah official warned Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi that any government that does not benefit the Iraqi people “will be overthrown by all means,” threatening to close the ports of countries involved in a US embargo on Iranian flights.

Najaf International Airport on Friday said it would suspend all incoming and outgoing flights to and from Iran based on official directives from relevant authorities. All Iraqi airports, including those in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Sulaimani, also enforced the ban.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a source told Iraqi state media that the suspension of Iranian flights landing at Baghdad International Airport is due to a service blockade by ground-handling companies at Iraqi airports, citing “fears of facing sanctions.” 

In late August, Washington announced ‘Operation Economic Outcast,’ a large-scale sanctions package on Iran that seeks to clamp down on third parties that directly and indirectly support the Iranian regime by facilitating its oil exports and shadow economy.