The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, condemning the illegal and inhumane actions and measures taken by the US government to disrupt Iran’s commercial exchanges and air transportation with other countries through the extraterritorial implementation of illegal US sanctions, stresses that these measures not only run counter to the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, particularly the principle of respect for the national sovereignty of states, and violate fundamental human rights standards, but also constitute a dangerous plot aimed at undermining friendly relations among countries, particularly neighboring states. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recalling the deep historical, religious, cultural and people-to-people ties between the two nations of Iran and Iraq, and appreciating the fraternal relations and good-neighborly ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq, considers the imposed restrictions on civil air travel between Iran and Iraq to be contrary to the common interests and objectives of the two countries. Relations between Iran and Iraq go beyond the conventional relations between two neighboring countries and are founded on deep people-to-people ties and mutual interests in various fields. The travel of millions of Iranian and Iraqi citizens for economic and commercial activities, pilgrimage to holy sites, tourism, education, and medical treatment necessitates that issues related to transportation and communications between the two nations be managed independently, responsibly and with a forward-looking approach, based on their common interests. The restrictions imposed on air travel between the two countries, in addition to creating serious difficulties for hundreds of thousands of passengers, pilgrims, patients, students and economic actors from the two countries, are in clear contradiction with the nature of the strategic relations and good-neighborly ties between Iran and Iraq. While respecting the national sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran calls for appropriate decisions to be taken in response to the US economic terrorism and sedition-mongering with a view to lifting the restrictions and restoring normal conditions for flights operated by the airlines of the two countries, in line with the interests and objectives of the two nations.