ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iraqi government on Friday denied the closure of the country’s airspace after Baghdad’s civil aviation authority issued an alert to airmen and provided rerouting instructions while traversing Iraqi skies, citing “military activity.”

The alert was issued by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), according to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s official NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) website, at 09:44 pm Thursday (Baghdad time), informing airmen that standard airways in the country would be restricted daily from 08:00 am (Baghdad time) to 02:00 pm, from November 7 through November 11.

The NOTAM informed that aircraft landing at Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaimani, or Kirkuk international airports must follow designated air routes and should expect air traffic control radar vectors during that time frame. Additionally, flights departing from Baghdad will receive radar guidance.

“The news circulating about imposing restrictions on air traffic in Iraqi airspace is untrue,” Iraqi government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi told state media on Friday, noting that “all air routes are available.”

Iraq’s Security Media Cell also denied the reports as “inaccurate”, clarifying that the alert was issued in anticipation of a training routine of Iraqi air forces involving different weapons.

“What occurred was the designation of a very limited airspace for purely training purposes within the annual live-fire exercise conducted by the Air Defense Command for its various weapons. This does not constitute a closure of Iraqi airspace or a general restriction on air traffic,” read the statement.

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority also released a statement on its official channels, denying the veracity of the circulating reports about the NOTAM.

“The Authority confirms that the information being circulated in this regard is inaccurate, emphasizing that air traffic continues to operate in accordance with officially approved aviation procedures and regulations,” the ICAA said in a statement.

The development comes amid reports of a potential resumption of large-scale military activities between the US and Iran and its regional proxies.

Iraq has been repeatedly caught in the crossfire of the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Tehran incessantly targeting US military and diplomatic sites in Iraq, as well as Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region, while the US, Israel, and regional neighbors such as Saudi Arabia conducted airstrikes on pro-Iran Iraqi militias, many of which defied Baghdad's policy of neutrality in the conflict and conducted attacks on behalf of Iran.