Shafaq News- Washington

The United States has removed Iraqi carrier Fly Baghdad from its sanctions list, two years after placing the airline under restrictions over allegations that it provided logistical support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups in the region.

The decision also lifted sanctions on Bashir Abdul Kadhim Alwan, who had been associated with the airline. The Department provided no further details on the reasons behind the decision.

Fly Baghdad, also known as Iraq Express, was designated under the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions program in 2024 after US authorities accused the carrier of transporting weapons shipments to Damascus International Airport in Syria, where they were later transferred to members of the IRGC Quds Force, the Syrian Arab Republican Guard, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah.

The alleged weapons shipments included Iranian-made Fateh, Zulfiqar and Fajr missiles, along with AK-47 rifles, RPG-7 rocket launchers, grenades and other machine guns.