Anadolu quotes Tehran saying Baghdad and Muscat "will not accept Iranian flights"; Shargh says Iran cancelled them
Three reports, all headed as an Iranian cancellation. The one direct quote we hold says the two airports are doing the refusing. No Iraqi or Omani source appears in any of them.
The stop. Three reports say flights from Tehran to Baghdad and to Muscat end at midnight local time on Wednesday. All three head it as a cancellation.
Who acted. Anadolu Agency prints the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization's own words directly beneath a headline saying Iran cancels: "As of 00:00 tonight local time, Baghdad and Muscat airports will not accept Iranian flights." That is a refusal at the far end, not a decision in Tehran. Shargh says the civil aviation spokesman announced the cancellation and names nobody as cancelling. An-Nahar, citing the Tasnim agency, uses the same form with no actor in it.
| Report | Who acts in the headline | Reason given | What still flies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anadolu Agency | Iran cancels | none | not stated |
| Shargh | flights were cancelled, nobody named | none | not stated |
| An-Nahar | flights will be cancelled, nobody named | US sanctions and the war, as background | Baghdad traffic to Najaf; Istanbul to schedule |
Why. Only An-Nahar offers a reason, and states it flat as background rather than attributing it: Iranian aviation faces tightening limits from US sanctions and the continuing effects of the war, and the Trump administration has announced measures aimed at Iranian airlines and the services around them, including fuel supply and ground handling. Anadolu and Shargh do not mention sanctions at all.
Not settled. Whether Tehran stopped the flights or the two airports refused them. Nobody in Iraq or Oman is quoted. No report gives a number of flights or passengers, a word from anyone booked on one, or a date for resumption.
What this is about. Two international routes out of Tehran — to Baghdad and to Muscat — stop at midnight, and the reports we hold do not agree on who stopped them.
How it got here. Iranian airlines have flown under US sanctions for decades. The 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers briefly opened the way to Western aircraft sales; the United States withdrew from it in 2018 under President Donald Trump and reimposed sanctions, and the sales stopped. Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025. An-Nahar reports that his administration has announced measures targeting Iranian airlines and the services attached to them, including fuel supply and ground handling, and that Iranian aviation is also living with the effects of a war the report does not describe further. The other two reports mention none of this.
Why the airport at the far end matters. A flight needs more than permission to leave. Where it lands it needs a slot, someone to fuel it and someone to work it on the ground — all sold by companies that can themselves be penalised. A rule written in Washington can therefore close a route by making a firm in a third country decline the business. That is why "cancelled" and "refused" are not the same sentence.
Who is in it. Iran, whose civil aviation authority is the source behind all three reports. Iraq, Iran's western neighbour: Baghdad is its capital, and Najaf to the south is a Shia shrine city that draws Iranian pilgrims. Oman, a Gulf state that has long passed messages between Tehran and Washington, and whose capital is Muscat. The United States, which writes the sanctions.
What is at stake. What remains of Iranian carriers' international network, and the people on it. If Baghdad and Muscat have refused, other airports can.
Where it stands. From midnight local on Wednesday, neither route runs. One report says Baghdad traffic moves to Najaf. None says when either route comes back.
The story so far
- IRNA says an exchange, its developer and three people were sanctioned; Interfax says the exchange alone · 17 Sep 2026
Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.
What is being argued about
- Whether Tehran cancelled the two routes or Baghdad and Muscat refused them
- Whether US measures on refuelling and ground handling lie behind the stop
- What is left for passengers — Najaf instead of Baghdad, and Istanbul unchanged
- The absence of any Iraqi or Omani account of what was decided
Claims and verdicts
Anadolu Agency
Anadolu Agency
🇹🇷TR ·
state agency · state-controlled
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
Anadolu Agency
Anadolu Agency
🇹🇷TR ·
state agency · state-controlled
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
Anadolu Agency
Anadolu Agency
🇹🇷TR ·
state agency · state-controlled
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
Who wrote it
Anadolu Agency
Coverage, outlet by outlet
Anadolu Agency
Anadolu Agency
🇹🇷TR ·
state agency · state-controlled
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent