Hope for Iranians as Flights to Holy Iraqi City Set to Resume Amid UN Diplomatic Push

Flights from Iran to a holy Shiite city in Iraq are expected to resume as soon as Tuesday, offering a brief reprieve from tightening US sanctions as diplomats make a final peace push at the UN General Assembly.

According to remarks published by official Iraqi media on Monday evening by Iraq's ambassador to Iran, Yasser Abdulzahra Al Hajjaj, the airport in Najaf will reopen to Iranian flights within 24 hours. The route had been suspended on Friday due to the widening ripple effects of US sanctions across the Middle East. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously warned that any companies dealing with Iranian airlines would face severe penalties and be excluded from the dollar system. While flights from Iran to Baghdad were also halted, the disruption of the route to Najaf caused particular concern because of its profound religious significance. Earlier in June, the coffin of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was paraded through the city during a funeral detour in Iraq.

Mr Al Hajjaj clarified that while the Iraqi government issued no official decision to halt flights with Iran, foreign ground-handling companies chose to withhold their services out of fear of US sanctions. He added that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi is continuously working to restore air travel between the two neighboring countries.

These developments occur against the backdrop of broader US efforts to isolate Iran economically and extract concessions in the ongoing conflict. High-stakes meetings at the UN General Assembly in New York have yet to produce a breakthrough. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was scheduled to meet with mediators on Monday to review the latest proposals, while the US planned separate discussions with Qatari mediators.

The current diplomatic talks were focused on an amended version of a proposal previously put forward by Iran, which included a seven-day countdown to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pause regional hostilities. However, US President Donald Trump firmly rejected the initiative. Meanwhile, economic pressures mounted as oil prices surged and Iran's rial weakened to a new low of 2.4 million per dollar.

Amid the tension, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei released a written message predicting that enemy forces would eventually be driven out of the Arabian Sea following painful blows from Iranian fighters near the Strait of Hormuz. Mr Khamenei has remained out of public view since a US strike resulted in the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the onset of the US and Israeli attacks on February 28.