Iraq bars Iranian football team plane from Basra airport over US sanctions
· Sports · Al Jazeera, Times of India
Iraq denied landing permission to a plane carrying Iran's national football team at Basra airport on Tuesday, citing the risk of violating United States sanctions on Iranian airlines. The aircraft returned to Iran and landed at Abadan airport instead, with the team now travelling by road to Basra. The four-nation Basra tournament also involves Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. An Iraqi civil aviation official confirmed the decision stems from Washington's September 23 sanctions on global companies doing business with Iranian carriers.
Why it matters
The incident underscores how US sanctions are restricting Iranian aviation operations abroad, directly disrupting the team's participation in the Basra tournament and highlighting the broad reach of Washington's financial penalties on Iranian transport.
Read the original report — Al Jazeera
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