Khamenei adviser criticizes Iraq over airport closures to Iran

Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has criticized the Iraqi government after it closed Iraq’s airports to Iranian flights.

Addressing Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi regarding the closure of Najaf airport to Iranian flights, Velayati said, “Legitimacy does not come from Washington,” according to Fars News Agency on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Al-Zaidi’s office said in a statement that the government is holding direct talks with the US to seek exemptions for certain Iraqi airports from measures imposed by the US Treasury Department on Iranian airlines’ flights to regional airports.