Iran’s footballers denied landing in Iraq as US pressure bites

Iraq barred a plane carrying Iran's national soccer team from landing at Basra airport on Tuesday, a decision by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority linked to US sanctions imposed on Iranian airlines, two Basra airport officials said.

The plane returned to Iran and landed at Abadan airport, and the team will now travel overland to Basra, an Iranian consulate official in Basra said.

The Iranian team was travelling to Iraq to participate in a four-nation tournament in Basra also involving Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.

An Iraqi civil aviation official said Iraq made the decision because it could not risk violating US sanctions on Iranian airlines.

The incident highlights the increasing impact of US sanctions on Iranian aviation operations in Iraq. Washington had announced sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23, with the aim of grounding Iran’s entire civil fleet worldwide.

Iraq in September ordered the suspension of Iranian flights to Baghdad airport after the United States threatened secondary sanctions against airports and service providers that handle Iranian carriers.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that airports servicing Iranian airlines could face sanctions, including exclusion from the US dollar system.

This warning was part of a broader effort to tighten restrictions on Iran’s transport sector and on foreign entities providing services to sanctioned Iranian airlines.