CBI freezes assets of Fly Baghdad after U.S. sanctions: source

Shafaq News/ The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has blocked access to three accounts that belong to Fly Baghdad following the announcement of U.S. sanctions on the Baghdad-based no-frill carrier on Monday, a source revealed.

In a statement on Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Fly Baghdad and its CEO, Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani, accusing them of "providing assistance to the Quds Force," the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, "by delivering material and personnel throughout the region" including weapons.

Fly Baghdad condemned Washington's sanctions, saying the US Treasury provided no proof of its allegation the airline had assisted Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

The low-cost carrier, which offers flights to Aleppo, Beirut, Damascus, Dubai, Istanbul, Mumbai, and Tehran, said its services were "continuing as usual and have not been suspended."

On Monday, the Treasury also announced that it had imposed new sanctions against "three leaders and supporters" of Kataeb Hezbollah, a pro-Iran armed group in Iraq.

It accused Kataeb Hezbollah of having "used Fly Baghdad flights on multiple occasions to transport bags of US currency and US-made weapons ... from Iraq to Lebanon."

It also accused Fly Baghdad of having transferred "hundreds of Iraqi fighters" affiliated with pro-Iran groups "in support of the Iranian proxies' attacks on Israel."

The US sanctions come after a spate of attacks on US troops in Iraq and neighboring Syria since an unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7 by Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas sparked war with Israel in Gaza.

Since mid-October, more than 140 attacks have targeted US and other foreign troops in Iraq and Syria, most of them claimed by pro-Iran armed groups.