A Caspian Airlines aircraft landed at Najaf on Sunday, 4 October, with an AFP correspondent witnessing its arrival. Airport official Hussein Muhanna confirmed the resumption of services between Iraq and Iran through Najaf.
AFP reported that the Iraqi government had announced an agreement with the United States allowing up to 40 daily Iranian flights to and from Najaf, excluding Mahan Air. That is Baghdad’s description of the arrangement; the underlying US authorization and its detailed conditions have not been independently reviewed by Iraq Business Desk.
The observed arrival is an operational development beyond the earlier announcement of a planned Iraqi Airways restart. The two concern different carriers. One arrival does not establish that the full announced daily capacity is operating.