Terminal 5 in Heathrow
Report: Fuel to Iran jets refused in Europe, Dubai
Airports in Britain, Germany, UAE refuse to allow Mahan Air and IranAir planes to refuel after US Congress passes sanctions, ISNA news agency reports. Iranian air official: Prices of flights to Europe will double
Airports in Britain, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates are refusing to provide refueling services to Iran's airlines, according to a report Monday in the Iranian news agency, ISNA.
According to the report, the decision to halt cooperation with the Iranian airlines was made last week and is one of the consequences of the international sanctions.
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"Ever since last week, airports in these countries are not supplying fuel to Iranian airplanes," said Mehdi Aliyari, secretary of the Iranian Airlines Guild.
According to Aliyari, this situation is compelling Iranian airplanes to make stopovers in other countries, which doubles flight costs. "As of now, the airlines that have encountered this problem are Mahan Air and IranAir, which fly a lot to Europe."
Aliyari called upon the International Civil Aviation Organization to attend to this "illegal" move, and noted, "The Iranian foreign ministry and government representatives abroad must solve this problem and take legal action against it."
Over the weekend, US President Barack Obama signed a bill intended to enforce the recent round of sanctions drafted by the US Congress over Iran's refusal to suspend their nuclear program. The law forbids the export of gas and petroleum products to Iran and prohibits American banks from doing business with foreign banks that provide services for the Revolutionary Guards.
Last week, the UAE confirmed reports that Iran is using Dubai's sea ports in order to smuggle equipment used in its nuclear program, becoming the first Arab country to officially recognize a main smuggling channel. Dubai made its notification to the International Atomic Energy Agency a month after British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that an Iranian company acquired German-made control systems via a Dubai trading company.
A number of companies have recently announced that they would break ties with Iran in light of the new round of sanctions. The most significant of these firms is the French oil giant Total SA, which stopped exporting to Iran. Germany recently intercepted and confiscated a Russian delivery destined for the nuclear reactor in Bushehr, a move that angered Moscow.
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