Shafaq News- Tehran

Land crossings remain open for Iranian visitors traveling to Iraq despite suspended flights, while officials work to ease travel obstacles affecting more than 50,000 Iraqi students enrolled at Iranian universities.

Morteza Aghaei, deputy for shrine affairs at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, told reporters that land return trips have been arranged for Iranian visitors currently in Iraq. Travelers can also convert air bookings to land travel and receive a refund for the fare difference, he said.

Talks with the relevant authorities are continuing to resume Iranian flights at Najaf International Airport within the next few days.

Separately, Iranian Science Minister Hossein Simaei said during a meeting with Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Yasser Abdul Zahra al-Hajjaj that more than 50,000 Iraqi students currently study at Iranian universities, adding that travel obstacles affecting the students would soon be resolved to allow them to return to classes.

On September 8, the US Treasury sanctioned 36 targets linked to Iran’s aviation sector, including 27 Iranian airlines.

Najaf International Airport suspended all flights to and from Iran on September 25, until further notice. A day later, the Iraqi government said it was in direct talks with Washington to secure exemptions for some Iraqi airports and restore flights used for medical treatment, education, religious visits and other civilian travel.

Despite the wider disruption, Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport said flights to Turkiye, Malaysia, China, Pakistan, Vietnam and Afghanistan were continuing, while routes to the UAE, Iraq, Oman and Georgia remained suspended.