Air France Reduces Flights to Tehran

French airline Air France announced on Wednesday, April 12, that it will reduce the number of flights to Tehran starting this fall due to economic difficulties. According to Reuters, the airline states that its operations over the past two years indicate that flights to Tehran do not provide sufficient financial returns. A spokesperson for Air France said that the decision was made to better align its schedule with demand. Reuters reports that Air France announced the reduction of flights to Tehran on the eve of President Donald Trump's potential decision regarding withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran. However, the spokesperson for Air France stated that the reduction in the number of flights to Tehran is not related to Trump's final decision on the JCPOA. Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., Russia, China, France, the U.K., and Germany, reached an agreement in July 2015 to resolve Iran's nuclear program and lift international sanctions against it. Under this agreement, known as the JCPOA, Iran agreed to halt many of its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of nuclear sanctions. Donald Trump, who has referred to the nuclear deal with Iran as 'the worst deal,' set a deadline last January to 'fix the flaws of the JCPOA,' which expires on May 12. Meanwhile, a European diplomat told Reuters that this indicates how the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the nuclear agreement affects trade relations with Iran. Reuters notes that even before Trump's threats, many bankers and traders were hesitant to travel to Iran and enter into business contracts due to concerns about U.S. sanctions. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, visited Washington last week to discuss the nuclear agreement with Donald Trump. European countries want to preserve the JCPOA but say that Iran's missile program and its destructive activities in the region must be stopped.