On 28 September, Nujaba Executive Council deputy chairman Sheikh Hussein al-Saeedi asked participants to suspend the Najaf airport sit-in after being told the airport would open; he said they would return in greater numbers and anger if it did not, until restrictions associated with U.S. sanctions warnings on Iranian flights were broken and shrine visitors could enter. Al-Nujaba TV subsequently posted protest coverage, while an economic and political analyst appearing on KSS-affiliated iNEWS claimed that 80% of Iranian air traffic was at Najaf airport and said the restrictions harmed Iraqi and Iranian sovereignty and Najaf’s economy. Earlier, Nujaba-linked Jehad Brothers Team reported resumed Iraqi Airways flights through Najaf to Iranian airports, whereas KH-aligned Sabereen News specified that this did not lift restrictions on Iranian carriers; Shafaq News also reported Baghdad’s efforts to obtain sanctions exemptions.
- Sabereen NewsKH — affiliated28 Sept, 20:39
“Iraqi Airways only, not Iranian companies; that means the government of al-Shab al-Zaidi has not lifted the ban on Iranian companies.”
الخطوط الجوية العراقية فقط وليس الشركات الايرانية أي مامعناه الحظر على الشركات الايرانية لم يرفع من قبل حكومة الشاب الزيدي.
- Jehad Brothers TeamNujaba — affiliated28 Sept, 21:23
“We ask today’s sit-in participants to return to work and suspend the sit-in until further notice... If the airport does not open, we will return in greater numbers and anger until the American blockade is broken and the airport opens to visitors to the holy shrines.”
نرجو من المعتصمين اليوم الانصراف إلى أعمالهم وتعليق الاعتصام إلى إشعار آخر ... وإن لم يفتح المطار ستكون لنا عودة أكبر غاضبة لحين كسر الحصار الأمريكي وفتح المطار أمام زوار العتبات المقدسة.
- Al-Nujaba TVNujaba — official28 Sept, 22:29
“Protests outside Najaf airport rejecting the decision to restrict Iranian flights.”
احتجاجات امام مطار النجف الأشرف رفضا لقرار الحظر الإيراني
- iNEWSKSS — affiliated28 Sept, 22:45
“Political and economic analyst: “80% of Iranian air traffic is at Najaf airport”; the flight ban affects Iranian and Iraqi sovereignty and Najaf’s economy.”
محلل سياسي واقتصادي: "80% من الطيران الإيراني في مطار النجف".. حظر الرحلات يمس السيادة الإيرانية والعراقية ويؤثر في اقتصاد النجف الأشرف
The carrier distinction leaves the central demand concerning Iranian airlines unresolved despite reports of Iraqi Airways service. The analyst’s economic and sovereignty claims on iNEWS (KSS — affiliated) add a different emphasis to the Nujaba official’s conditional protest pause.