The German government has banned Mahan Air (W5, Tehran Mehrabad) from operating flights to the country, accusing the airline of acting as an agent of the Iranian government.
"We have always said that Iran's destabilizing activities in the region, just like their ballistic missile program, are not acceptable. That is why it is in Germany's foreign policy interests not to allow any air traffic to Germany from companies who support the war in Syria and contribute to the oppression of people in war zones," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christopher Burger said at a press conference, as quoted by Deutsche Welle.
The move was quickly applauded by the US administration. The Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell said that the US was "thankful" and that "the safety of German and U.S. citizens [was] the highest priority", echoing earlier comments by National Security Advisor John Bolton.
US officials further said that Germany's ban was a result of long-standing pressure. The German Foreign Ministry did however not acknowledge bowing to US pressure.
Mahan Air has been sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) since 2011.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, the Iranian carrier currently operates from Tehran Imam Khomeini to Düsseldorf Int'l (3x weekly using A310-300 equipment) and Munich (2x weekly using A340-300 aircraft).
In terms of its European Union network, Mahan Air also flies to Barcelona El Prat, Milan Malpensa, and Paris CDG. No other EU country has so far banned the airline.
ch aviation
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