Iraq Bars Iranian Football Team's Plane From Landing in Basra Over Sanctions Risk: Team Travels by Road
Reuters reported on November 10 that Iraq's Civil Aviation Authority barred a plane carrying Iran's national football team from landing at Basra airport, saying Iraq could not risk violating U.S. sanctions on Iranian airlines. The aircraft returned to Iran and landed at Abadan, and the team travelled on to Basra by road via the Shalamcheh crossing.
Iran was travelling for a four-nation tournament in Basra involving Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Palestine, scheduled to start on November 13, with Iran facing Palestine on November 14. An Iranian consulate official in Basra confirmed the team would make the trip overland.
According to the report, Washington announced sanctions after September 23 on global companies doing business with Iranian airlines, aiming to ground Iran's civil fleet, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that airports servicing Iranian airlines could face sanctions including exclusion from the U.S. dollar system. Iraq had already suspended Iranian flights to Baghdad airport in September.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：伊拉克巴士拉的体育场（资料图）。图：<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Yesa，CC BY 3.0，经维基共享资源 / a stadium in Basra, Iraq (file photo). Photo by <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Yesa, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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