Bild Newspaper: Flights of Mahan Airlines to Germany to be Banned

The German newspaper Bild reported on Friday, December 30, that the German government will ban flights of Mahan Air to and from Germany starting from the beginning of the new Gregorian year. The United States has sanctioned Mahan Air for allegedly collaborating with the regime of Bashar al-Assad. According to Bild, the German government decided to prohibit Mahan Air flights to Munich and Düsseldorf following intense negotiations with U.S. officials. A Reuters report states that a spokesperson for the German government declined to comment on Bild's report regarding the ban on Mahan Air flights. The ban on Mahan Air flights will begin in January 2019, which is just ten days away. The U.S. placed Mahan Air on its sanctions list in 2011, accusing it of providing services to the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and transporting personnel and weapons to Lebanon and Syria. The U.S. has also sanctioned several companies associated with Mahan Air. Germany and European countries opposed the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA, and the return of Washington's sanctions against Tehran. Meanwhile, France and Germany are trying to encourage Iran to continue its commitments under the JCPOA while also seeking to establish a mechanism and channel for continuing trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions. However, several Iranian airlines have faced difficulties obtaining fuel in Europe. During the previous round of U.S. and EU sanctions, several European countries and some regional countries, including Kuwait and the UAE, refused to supply fuel to Iranian passenger planes.