The Iraqi government gave the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) three days to hand over control of its airports in order to avoid an international air embargo, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, according to state TV.
The measure is meant as retaliation against the independence referendum held by the KRG in northern Iraq on Monday.
Baghdad last week asked foreign countries to stop direct flights to the international airports of Erbil and Sulaimaniya, in KRG territory, but only Iran declared such an air embargo, halting direct flights to Kurdistan.