Resistance group urges Iraqi government to reject ‘unjust siege’ on Iran

Abu Ala al-Walai made the remarks in a statement following the closure of Najaf International Airport to flights to and from Tehran.

The administration of Najaf International Airport announced the suspension of all flights arriving from and departing for Iran until further notice, based on directives from the office of the Iraqi prime minister.

“It is not fitting for the Iraq of Hussein (AS) (third Shia Imam) to be part of an unjust siege on Iran, the land of knowledge and jihad, the land of seminaries, the visitors of Arbaeen, its sheikhs, women, and children,” he said.

“Iraq, which carries the slogan ‘Labbayk Ya Hussein’ (At your service, O Hussein) as a method and a position, should also have a word in positions: No to the siege, and no to making the land of Hussein (AS) a path to oppressing his Shia and lovers,” he added.

Al-Walai urged members of the parliament to work on “issuing a resolution that obliges the government not to submit to the evil will of America, similar to the positions taken by several countries, foremost among them Russia and China, which reject the siege and the policies of dictation.”

The decision to halt flights from Najaf to Tehran followed US measures targeting Iran’s aviation sector.

On September 8, the US Treasury sanctioned 27 Iranian airlines and threatened airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling firms, and other service providers dealing with Iranian carriers with secondary sanctions.

Erbil International Airport and Sulaymaniyah’s International Airport took similar measures. Kirkuk International Airport also said it had no flights to Iran.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Al Arabiya that Baghdad would discuss the issue of sanctions with the United States to explore the possibility of providing services to Iranian airlines.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s Ambassador to Tehran, Yasser al-Hajjaj, told Al Ahad TV that Iraq and Iran were holding talks to find solutions aimed at resuming flights by Iranian airlines to Iraqi airports.

Several Iraqi political and Resistance figures have criticized the suspension of Iranian flights.

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi stated Iran is Iraq’s “neighbor, ally, and friend” and called the airport closure a major mistake, urging authorities to reverse the decision.

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Secretary-General Akram al-Kaabi vowed in a statement on Friday that the Iraqi anti-terror resistance group will stage sit-ins at Iraqi airports nationwide unless normal air traffic between the two Muslim neighboring countries resumes.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, on Friday warned against recent regional measures that had disrupted Iranian passenger flights, saying, “Flights in the region are either free for everyone, or for no one.”

He added that cooperation with the US in implementing hostile policies would remain in the memory of the Iranian people, stressing that if Iran cannot fly or receive airport services, “no country in the region will have this possibility either.”