Iraq blocks Iran football team’s plane from landing in Basra

Dubai: Iraq has refused permission for a plane carrying Iran’s national football team to land at Basra Airport on Tuesday, with the decision reportedly linked to US sanctions targeting Iranian airlines, according to two airport officials who spoke to Reuters.

The aircraft was forced to return to Iran, landing at Abadan Airport. An Iranian consulate official in Basra confirmed that the players will now complete the journey by road.

Iran are travelling to Iraq to compete in a four-team tournament in Basra, alongside hosts Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.

An Iraqi civil aviation official said the decision was taken to avoid the risk of breaching US sanctions against Iranian airlines.

The incident underlines the growing impact of Washington’s restrictions on Iran’s aviation industry and its operations in Iraq.

In September, the US announced measures targeting international companies conducting business with Iranian airlines, as part of an effort to ground the country’s commercial aircraft fleet worldwide.

Iraq subsequently suspended Iranian flights to Baghdad Airport after Washington warned that airports and service providers handling Iranian carriers could face secondary sanctions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had warned that airports providing services to Iranian airlines risked being sanctioned, potentially losing access to the US dollar financial system.

The warning formed part of a wider American campaign to tighten restrictions on Iran’s transport industry and foreign businesses supporting its sanctioned airlines.

The latest measures come amid an intensified US effort to put economic pressure on Iran, as President Donald Trump seeks to bring an end to the war launched by the US and Israel against the country in February.