IRNA says Iraq agreed 40 daily Iranian flights to Najaf; Shargh says Iraq thanked Washington
Two Iranian outlets report Iranian flights into Iraq resuming on the same evening. Iran's state agency gives a flight count and names an airline that is barred. The Tehran daily Shargh leads on Iraq's foreign minister crediting ties with the United States. Neither says who barred the airline, or why.
What happened. Iranian airlines are to fly into Iraq again. Both reports source the news to Iraqi officials. Neither report we hold quotes an Iranian or a US official.
IRNA, Iran's state news agency, says the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office announced an agreement on Friday. Iranian airlines, "excluding Mahan Air", will operate "40 flights per day" to and from Najaf International Airport. It does not mention the United States.
Shargh, a Tehran daily, runs the headline "Iraq thanks America for the resumption of Iran's flights". It quotes Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. He calls the resumption a step to "deepen relations and strengthen the partnership of Baghdad and Washington on the basis of mutual respect". Shargh gives no flight count and names no airline.
| IRNA | Shargh | |
|---|---|---|
| Iraqi source | Prime Minister's Office | Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein |
| Framed as | Iraq–Iran agreement | Baghdad–Washington partnership |
| Flights a day | 40 | not given |
| Airline excluded | Mahan Air | not mentioned |
| United States | not mentioned | in the headline |
What is not settled. - Whether Washington approved the flights, or Hussein was only thanking it. Shargh's quote does not say which. - Who excluded Mahan Air, and why. IRNA gives no reason. - Why the flights had stopped, and since when. Neither report says. - We hold only the opening lines of each report. The full texts may say more.
What this is about. Whether Iranian airlines can fly pilgrims and passengers into Iraq, and who gets the credit for allowing it.
How it got here. Iraq and Iran share a long border, and most people in both countries are Shia Muslims. Najaf, in southern Iraq, holds the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Iranian pilgrims travel there every year, and many of them fly.
The United States has kept sanctions on Iran for decades. In 2018 it left the international nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed broad sanctions. Iraq sits between the two countries. It hosts US forces, and its oil revenues are held at the US Federal Reserve. It also buys gas and electricity from Iran. Washington has repeatedly granted Iraq waivers so that it can keep buying Iranian energy.
Mahan Air is a private Iranian airline. The US Treasury put it under sanctions in 2011, saying it supported Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Companies that deal with a listed firm risk US penalties.
Iran is now at war, which has thrown flights in the region into doubt. Neither report says when or why flights to Iraq stopped.
Who is involved. - Iraq's government decides who lands at its airports. It has to keep both Tehran and Washington on side. - Iran wants its airlines and pilgrims moving. - The United States enforces sanctions that can reach anyone who does business with listed Iranian firms.
What is at stake. If the flights depend on Washington's consent, then US sanctions policy decides who travels between two neighbours. If they rest on an Iraq–Iran deal, Baghdad has more room to act on its own. Pilgrims and airlines depend on which it is.
Where it stands. On 2 October, Iraqi officials announced that the flights would resume. The two reports we hold disagree on who made it possible.
The story so far
- CNBC calls Iran rail and car sanctions an 'economic attack' of unclear effect; Reuters ties them to a blockade its text never mentions · 1 Oct 2026
- US sanctions over Iran arms: three outlets say 10 'individuals and entities', the Jerusalem Post says 10 'entities', and only An-Nahar's headline drops 'alleged' · 29 Sep 2026
- The Jerusalem Post says Washington 'considers' a Najaf flight waiver, Reuters says it was 'set to grant' one on Monday, and Anadolu says flights have already resumed · 28 Sep 2026
- Anadolu quotes Tehran saying Baghdad and Muscat "will not accept Iranian flights"; Shargh says Iran cancelled them · 22 Sep 2026
- 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
- Who Iraq credits for letting Iranian flights resume
- The 40-flights-a-day figure, carried only by Iran's state agency
- Why Mahan Air is left out
- How US sanctions shape travel between Iraq and Iran
| Outlet | Who announced it | What it says | Flights a day | Mentions the US? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRNA | Iraqi Prime Minister's Office | "an agreement under which Iranian airlines, excluding Mahan Air, will operate 40 flights per day" to and from Najaf | 40 | No |
| Shargh | Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein | a step to "deepen relations and strengthen the partnership of Baghdad and Washington on the basis of mutual respect" | not given | Yes, in the headline |
Iraq and Iran agree on 40 daily flights by Iranian airlines to Najaf
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Read it at IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) →
What we have measured
A contested word in the headline "illegal" is a Chinese spokesperson's characterisation, carried unmarked in the headline ×1A contested word taken as the report's own "illegal" appears in the headline without quotation marks or attribution to the speaker ×1Acted upon, never acting police are named as acting; whoever hoarded a billion toman of staples is not named at all ×1Actor label The Houthi-run authority is called Yemen's transport ministry. ×1
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Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
تقدیر عراق از آمریکا برای از سرگیری پروازهای ایران
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Shargh →
What we have measured
A count with its base both days given, and the data called preliminary ×1Actor named as a state the attack is Yemen's, not the Houthis' ×1A different actor does the asking Pakistan's army chief, not Beijing, is the one asking Tehran to use its influence, on the word of unnamed Pakistani government sources. ×1'aggression' in the narration The US campaign is called aggression in the report's own narration, which it credits to Al-Ahram's account of the call. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Two reports, two different deals
One report presents a deal between Iraq and Iran with a number and an exclusion. The other presents it as a favour from Washington and gives no flight count. Neither says who decided to exclude Mahan Air, or why.
Iraq and Iran agree on 40 daily flights by Iranian airlines to Najaf
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) →
What we have measured
A contested word in the headline "illegal" is a Chinese spokesperson's characterisation, carried unmarked in the headline ×1A contested word taken as the report's own "illegal" appears in the headline without quotation marks or attribution to the speaker ×1Acted upon, never acting police are named as acting; whoever hoarded a billion toman of staples is not named at all ×1Actor label The Houthi-run authority is called Yemen's transport ministry. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
تقدیر عراق از آمریکا برای از سرگیری پروازهای ایران
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Shargh →
What we have measured
A count with its base both days given, and the data called preliminary ×1Actor named as a state the attack is Yemen's, not the Houthis' ×1A different actor does the asking Pakistan's army chief, not Beijing, is the one asking Tehran to use its influence, on the word of unnamed Pakistani government sources. ×1'aggression' in the narration The US campaign is called aggression in the report's own narration, which it credits to Al-Ahram's account of the call. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Claims and verdicts
No claims registered.
Who wrote it
Coverage, outlet by outlet
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
تقدیر عراق از آمریکا برای از سرگیری پروازهای ایران
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Shargh →
What we have measured
A count with its base both days given, and the data called preliminary ×1Actor named as a state the attack is Yemen's, not the Houthis' ×1A different actor does the asking Pakistan's army chief, not Beijing, is the one asking Tehran to use its influence, on the word of unnamed Pakistani government sources. ×1'aggression' in the narration The US campaign is called aggression in the report's own narration, which it credits to Al-Ahram's account of the call. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
— independent
Iraq and Iran agree on 40 daily flights by Iranian airlines to Najaf
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) →
What we have measured
A contested word in the headline "illegal" is a Chinese spokesperson's characterisation, carried unmarked in the headline ×1A contested word taken as the report's own "illegal" appears in the headline without quotation marks or attribution to the speaker ×1Acted upon, never acting police are named as acting; whoever hoarded a billion toman of staples is not named at all ×1Actor label The Houthi-run authority is called Yemen's transport ministry. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
— state-controlled