# US lifts sanctions on Iraq’s Fly Baghdad airline 2026-08-05T23:11:49+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk The United States has lifted sanctions on Iraq's Fly Baghdad airline and two of its aircraft, according to an update on the Treasury Department's website, while maintaining sanctions against Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani, previously identified as the company's owner. NDTV reported that Washington had originally designated the airline, its aircraft and its owner in January 2024, alleging support for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. A Treasury official told AFP that the airline had been removed from the sanctions list after going through the department's administrative reconsideration process, saying it had demonstrated major changes to its operations, and clarified that the removal did not reflect any shift in US policy toward Iran, the Revolutionary Guard Corps or any designated terrorist organisation. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The delisting is a specific regulatory action, and the only reason on record is an anonymous Treasury official's line that Fly Baghdad demonstrated major changes to its operations, with the changes themselves unspecified. The distinction the Treasury draws, lifting sanctions on the airline and two aircraft while keeping them on the man previously identified as its owner, makes the change narrower than a reversal of the January 2024 designation. Sanctions on al-Shabbani stay in force, so any later change to his designation is the next Treasury action this notice leaves open. ## Coverage - www.ndtv.com Tags: Fly Baghdad, US Treasury Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/us-lifts-sanctions-on-iran-guards-linked-iraqi-airline/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/us-lifts-sanctions-on-iran-guards-linked-iraqi-airline/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.