Aides to Iraq's prime minister say Iran refused to let al-Maliki cross airspace

The Associated Press

Iran refused to allow the Iraqi prime minister to fly across its airspace as he was flying to Tokyo, members of the delegation traveling with Nouri al-Maliki told The Associated Press early Sunday. The delegation members said al-Maliki's plane was diverted to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where al-Maliki stayed in the airport for more than three hours while his government aircraft was refueled and a new flight plan was filed. Two members of the delegation told AP about the incident by telephone from Dubai. A government official in Baghdad confirmed their account. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information...

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