TEHERAN: The first commercial flight operated by a foreign airline to fly into Iran since the outbreak of the Middle East war landed on Thursday, state media reported, after the United States granted a sanctions waiver for Iraq's national carrier to fly to the Islamic republic.
State TV broadcast a short video of the Iraqi Airways flight landing in capital Teheran from Iraq's Najaf, a city holy to Shia Muslims, adding that it was a round-trip service.
"Operated by Iraqi Airways, the flight took off from Najaf Airport and landed successfully at Imam Khomeini Airport in Teheran at 6.50am (0320 GMT)," state TV said.
Last month, Iraq's transport ministry said that the United States had granted Iraqi Airways an exemption to fly to Iran, with an official telling AFP it applied to pilgrims travelling between Iran and Najaf.
