Monday, 28 September 2026

More than 50 MPs have begun collecting signatures to review the suspension of Iranian flights, MP Abbas al-Ulayawi said after a meeting; he expects more than 100 to join. Three Iraqi airports suspended Iranian flights on Friday, and Baghdad is seeking US exemptions to restore some civilian services. An unnamed source told Shafaq News that Iraq’s four presidencies would discuss the restrictions later today, alongside steps to place faction weapons under state control. That is a reported agenda, not an agreed weapons-control measure. Separately, 964media reported that Harakat al-Nujaba called for a sit-in outside Najaf airport at 5 p.m. later today. Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) carried an appeal attributed to Najaf residents that did not name the faction as organizer; Al-Janoub TV (Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina — official) captioned footage as Basra tribes demanding reversal. On weapons, Ali al-Asadi (Nujaba — Political Council head) set conditions under which resistance would lose its justification, not a commitment to hand over Nujaba’s arms. The four presidencies are reported to be planning a discussion before the coalition mission’s scheduled end on 30 September, but no faction has confirmed a handover.

The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Ministry said Baghdad is responsible for protecting the Region’s airspace as US and coalition forces prepare to withdraw on 30 September. The ministry said its forces remain prepared, but it is concerned about a withdrawal without an air-defense system. It said more than 1,000 drones and ballistic missiles had targeted the Region during the conflict between the United States and Iran. Kurdistan Democratic Party president Masoud Barzani separately warned that the withdrawal could leave Iraq vulnerable to an ISIS return, while acknowledging that conditions differ from those of 2011. Iraqi air force commander Khalid al-Tamimi said the force now conducts its missions independently of the coalition. Baghdad has set a four-day holiday beginning on 30 September to mark the expected end of the coalition mission.

Iraqi and Syrian border officials agreed on Sunday to establish direct electronic communication between their crossings at Rabia, Waleed and Qaim. Iraq’s border ports commission spokesperson Alaa al-Din al-Qaisi said the two sides would exchange customs data and coordinate on obstacles to trade. They also agreed to resume passenger traffic at Waleed once passport halls and roads are completed; the work is expected to finish at the beginning of next year. The crossing is already receiving petrol trucks from Syria’s Baniyas port, according to al-Rutba district administrator Emad al-Rishawi. Syria’s Petroleum Company said it had dispatched two convoys, of 10 and 55 tankers. The arrivals move Iraq’s fuel supply effort beyond loading at Baniyas, but do not establish delivery to filling stations.

Iraqi counterterrorism forces killed two ISIS militants and captured a third in an operation near Pirde in Kirkuk province on Sunday, the Security Media Cell said. A civilian was killed and two counterterrorism personnel were wounded in the clash. Security Media Cell head Saad Maan said two of the militants wore explosive belts and that the arrested man had transported ISIS members. The Counter-Terrorism Service said its forces conducted the operation under a judicial order.

Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission said Starlink’s licence is official and that its first subscriptions have been activated. Baligh Abu Kalal, head of the commission’s executive authority, said regulators can identify active terminals and their owners through a direct link with the company. He rejected claims that Iraqi users’ data is held in Qatar, but acknowledged that Starlink has no gateway in Iraq yet. The commission is negotiating to install one earlier than the two-year wait the company had proposed. Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad said in August that Iraqi traffic was routed through Qatar; the regulator’s statement concerns data control while acknowledging that traffic currently reaches gateways outside Iraq.

Harakat al-Nujaba called, according to 964media, for a 5 p.m. sit-in later today outside Najaf airport over Iranian flights that Reuters reported suspended at three Iraqi airports on Friday. Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) carried an appeal attributed to Najaf residents placing the sit-in at the airport entrance; that appeal did not itself name Nujaba as its organizer. The gathering follows Akram al-Kaabi’s earlier conditional call for airport sit-ins, while 964media said tribal leaders, pilgrimage-service groups and aviation workers had also been urged to attend. MP Abbas al-Ulayawi said more than 50 MPs had met and begun collecting signatures to review the suspension; he expected more than 100 to join. Al-Janoub TV (Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina — official) captioned footage as Basra tribal opposition demanding immediate reversal. On Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official), legal expert Ali al-Tamimi challenged the restriction’s legal basis and called for an extraordinary parliamentary session. Hikma Movement member Hashim al-Hasnawi said Iranian flights would resume at Najaf on 30 September and Iraqi companies would handle aviation and ground services; these were his claims, not airport announcements. Baghdad, meanwhile, says it is seeking U.S. exemptions for some airports to restore civilian travel.

The flight restrictions are also on the agenda of a meeting Iraq’s four presidencies are expected to hold later today, according to an unnamed source cited by Shafaq News. The source said they would discuss steps to place faction weapons under state control after the announced end of the coalition’s presence. That is a planned discussion, not an agreed weapons-control measure. Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) quoted Ali al-Asadi (Nujaba — Political Council head) saying the justification for resistance would end if Iraq could govern itself and U.S. interference in its decisions stopped. Al-Asadi set a condition for ending resistance, not a commitment to hand over Nujaba’s weapons. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has called for state authority over weapons, while Hoquq MP Mohammed Jabar al-Hasnawi accepted state control of decisions but not weapons. State of Law leader Nouri al-Maliki has said a committee would announce a weapons-control programme and timetable on 30 September; no such announcement has yet been made.

Al-Ahad TV published a graphic describing 30 September as the complete departure of U.S. forces. Al-Nujaba TV, by contrast, quoted guest Sheikh Mujtaba al-Mansouri calling it a day of incomplete sovereignty, not disputing the departure itself. Air force commander Khalid al-Tamimi said Iraqi drones had replaced coalition aircraft on reconnaissance missions and that coalition forces had flown no missions inside Iraq since the start of the year. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, in remarks carried by Al-Ahad, raised concern about withdrawal without defensive systems; he said the Region had faced more than a thousand rocket and drone attacks. The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Ministry said in a 27 September statement that its forces remained prepared, but that Baghdad was responsible for protecting the Region’s airspace. Al-Ahad guests offered different explanations for the withdrawal: Adnan al-Sarraj credited popular and resistance pressure, while Fadhel al-Yunis pointed to an Iraqi government request and an Iraqi-American preference. Those guests’ explanations are not AAH statements.