Kataib Hezbollah threatens to bring down Iraqi govt over Iranian airline ban

A powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq on Monday threatened to bring down the government if it continued to bar Iranian flights from entering the country in line with recent US sanctions.

The Kataib Hezbollah warning came after several countries began restricting Iranian airlines from operating at their airports as sweeping new US sanctions targeting Iran's aviation sector came into force on 23 September.

"We warn Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi and those behind him that any government that does not work in the interests of the people will be brought down by all means," Kataib Hezbollah’s security official Abu Mujhaid al-Assaf wrote in a social media post.

"If the air blockade on Iran continues after the first of next month, our people will take a clear position, which could include closing the border crossings of countries participating in the blockade of the Iranian people," continued al-Assaf. He did not explicitly name the countries he was referring to, leaving it unclear which border crossings he was threatening to close.

All four Iraqi airports that had been operating flights to and from Iran suspended them, significantly expanding restrictions first imposed in Baghdad.

But flights from Iran to and from Najaf have resumed under a US waiver.

Iraq's ambassador to Iran Yasser al-Hajjaj reportedly said on Monday that Iraq had not banned flights but foreign companies were refusing to provide services to Iranian carriers for fear of US sanctions.

The Iraqi state news agency INA said that only Iraqi Airways would now operate flights to and from Najaf.

Iraq is an important market for Iranian airlines, which carry Iranian pilgrims to Shia shrines in Najaf and Karbala, and Iraqi travellers in the opposite direction.

"The Iraqi people will celebrate on the 30th of this month by expelling the occupying US and NATO forces from Iraq," al-Assaf said, referring to the United States completing its military pullout from Iraq after a decades-long presence following the 2003 invasion.

He said the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" would monitor Iraqi airspace to ensure it was not violated by hostile aircraft, warning: "We will issue a warning first and then shoot them down." He added that the prime minister’s office, under its current leadership, should not become a "cashier" for US violations after 1 October.

Kataib Hezbollah was not officially given seats in al-Zaidi’s cabinet, as al-Zaidi agreed to exclude militia-aligned actors from his government to secure international support and avoid immediate US sanctions, ending months of political stalemate in Iraq.

While Kataib Hezbollah is officially part of Iraq’s state-funded security apparatus through the Popular Mobilisation Forces, it enjoys a large level of autonomy.

Iraq has long played a delicate balancing act in its relations with Washington and Tehran, which both still yield significant political and military influence in the country.

The US backs al-Zaidi’s government and is pressuring it to disarm Iran-backed factions and bring all arms under state control. While most groups have agreed to surrender their weapons and integrate with the state, Kataib Hezbollah has refused to disarm.

When the US-Israel war on Iran broke out, deadly US-Israeli airstrikes hit bases belonging to Iran-backed militias in Iraq which in turn targeted US interests, including Washington’s embassy and bases hosting US forces.