The Militia Digest

Badr Organization secretary-general Hadi al-Amiri demanded that Baghdad reverse restrictions on Iranian flights, calling compliance with the U.S. measure a test of Iraqi sovereignty. Falih al-Khazali (KSS — MP and Muntasirun bloc head) gave the government 48 hours to reverse the restrictions and proposed gathering signatures to summon the prime minister, civil-aviation director and transport minister. First Deputy Speaker Adnan Faihan said parliament would hold an extraordinary session if the decision was not cancelled. Sheikh Hummam Hamoudi called for an urgent Coordination Framework meeting about airport closures. Haidar al-Gharawi (Ansar Allah al-Awfiya — secretary-general) rejected asking Washington for an exemption, while the government says it is discussing exemptions for some airports to restore civilian travel. On Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official), Mahdi al-Husseini (AAH — Sadiqoun political office) opposed applying sanctions but sought an exemption; Mohammed al-Mutlibi (Reconstruction and Development Coalition) defended the restriction as protecting Iraqi institutions and also supported exemptions. The demands therefore differ over whether Baghdad should reverse the restriction or seek exemptions. Iraqi ambassador to Iran Yasser al-Hajjaj called the flight interruption temporary and said Baghdad was working with Tehran to restore traffic.

Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) publicized a sit-in at the entrance to Najaf airport for Monday, 28 September, at 5 p.m. against restrictions on Iranian aircraft landing in Iraq. Jehad Brothers Team (Nujaba — affiliated) carried an invitation with the same place and time from the Karbala’un Brigade, described as belonging to Nujaba. Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) carried a matching invitation attributed to Najaf residents; the matching details do not establish who organized that invitation. The fixed gathering follows Akram al-Kaabi’s (Nujaba — secretary-general) conditional call for airport sit-ins if flights did not resume. Al-Kornet al-Kata’ibi (KSS — affiliated) had also announced a September 28 protest at Najaf’s 20th Revolution overpasses, a separate location. An-Nahar reported wider pressure for airport sit-ins and attributed a call to “break the blockade” to Kataib Hezbollah, without attributing the Najaf airport notice to that faction. Separately, Al-Ghadeer TV and Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) carried a text challenging the government’s religious legitimacy over restrictions on shrine visitors; Sabereen attributed it to Mohsen al-Araki’s office. The airport sit-in is scheduled, not an event that has taken place.

Saud al-Saadi (Hoquq — deputy bloc head) demanded the legal basis for placing the Civil Aviation Authority under the prime minister rather than the Transport Ministry. Sabereen News reported that he sought an answer within 15 days, while Al-Nujaba TV described his request as a call to return the authority to the ministry. Circulated copies of his parliamentary letter bear conflicting years, 2023 and 2027, so its publication does not establish when the letter was written. Separately, Al-Ahad TV presented a circulated document as saying the United Iraqi Company for Airport Services suspended services to Iranian airlines from 23 September by its own decision. The channel said the company acted to protect its funds from sanctions and had received no formal government instruction; the document’s authenticity has not been established. An airport source attributed Najaf airport’s halt of flights to and from Iran to a directive from the prime minister’s office. Airport services and flight operations are different decisions: the circulated company document does not establish who directed the Najaf halt.