Iran urges Iraq to make decision on US flight restrictions

In a statement released late on Thursday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the illegal and inhumane measures and actions adopted by the US government to disrupt Iran’s commercial exchanges and air transportation with other countries through the extraterritorial enforcement of unlawful US sanctions.

“The ministry emphasizes that these measures not only run counter to the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, particularly the principle of respect for the national sovereignty of countries, and violate fundamental human rights norms, but also constitute a dangerous scheme aimed at undermining friendly relations among countries, particularly neighboring states,” the Iranian ministry warned.

“In this regard, while recalling the deep historical, religious, cultural and people-to-people ties between the Iranian and Iraqi nations, and appreciating the fraternal relations and good-neighborliness between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers the imposed restrictions on civil air travel between Iran and Iraq to be contrary to the common interests and welfare of the two countries,” the statement added.

“Relations between Iran and Iraq go beyond the conventional relations between two neighboring countries and are based on deep people-to-people ties and mutual interests in various fields. The travel of millions of Iranian and Iraqi citizens for economic and commercial activities, pilgrimage to holy sites, tourism, education, and medical treatment necessitates that issues related to transportation and communications between the two nations be managed through an independent, responsible, and forward-looking approach based on common interests,” it also stated.

“The restrictions imposed on air travel between the two countries, in addition to creating serious problems for hundreds of thousands of passengers, pilgrims, patients, students and economic actors from both countries, are in clear conflict with the nature of the strategic relations between Iran and Iraq, which are based on good-neighborly ties,” it noted.

“While respecting the national sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran calls for appropriate decisions to be adopted in confronting the US economic terrorism and its acts of fomenting discord, in order to remove the restrictions and restore normal conditions for flights operated by the airlines of the two countries, in line with the interests and welfare of the two nations,” the ministry said.

MNA