The international airport of Tehran, in Iran, received this Thursday the first plane from a foreign airline since the war in the Middle East began after the offensive launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel against Iran.
The flight, operated by the airline Iraqi Airways, landed at Imam Khomeini Airport at 6:50 a.m. (local time), after taking off from the Iraqi city of Najaf --considered one of the most sacred cities for Shia Islam--, to which it is scheduled to return throughout the day, according to the Iranian public television network, IRIB.
The connection has been taken over by the Iraqi company after the United States granted the airline a specific exemption from sanctions to operate flights to Iranian territory. At the same time, Baghdad communicated an understanding with Washington to allow Iranian airlines to fly to and from Najaf, with the only exception of "Mahan Air."
In September, the United States approved a new round of sanctions against the Iranian aviation sector as part of its economic war against Tehran, which led several airlines in the country to suspend numerous international links, also due to the restrictions announced in response by various States.