Iran Cancels Flights to Baghdad After Protesters Stormed Iraqi Parliament

Tehran decieded to transfer flights to holy shrines, which were scheduled to be made to the Baghdad airport, to the city of Najaf, amid protests began in the Iraqy capital, according to the chief of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Tehran has suspended all flights to the Iraqi capital, including pilgrimage flights to holy shrines, amid unrests caused by the formation of a new government, Saeed Ohadi, the chief of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, said Sunday.

On Saturday, the Iraqi military announced the state of the full combat readiness and closed all entrances to Baghdad after the group of supporters of the Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada Sadr stormed the parliament building and began smashing furniture inside. The attack severely injured several Iraqi lawmakers.

"In coordination with [Iranian] airlines, we decided to transfer flights to holy shrines, which were scheduled to be made to the Baghdad airport, to the city of Najaf since today so that the pilgrims will face no problem," Ohadi said, as quoted by the Press TV broadcaster.

The protests were triggered by the Iraqi parliament experiencing a split and rescheduling the vote on candidates for the new government for next week. The parliament break-in caused Iraqi President Fuad Masum to convene an emergency session of Iraqi lawmakers on Sunday.