British Airways Resumes Flights to Iran

Starting from the night of Thursday, September 1, direct flights by British Airways to Iran will resume; these flights were initially scheduled to begin in early summer but have been delayed until now. According to British Airways, a Boeing 777 will depart from Heathrow Airport for Tehran after 9 PM local time on Thursday. The last direct flight by this airline to Iran took place in 2012, and with the escalation of tensions and the attack on the British Embassy in Tehran in December 2011, the route for direct commercial flights was blocked. Following the nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers and the easing of the diplomatic crisis between Tehran and London, British Airways announced on its website last February that its planes would resume flights to Iran. The London-based newspaper Daily Telegraph also reported that there has been a good reception for British travel tours and tourists from this country since the launch of direct flights from London to Tehran. However, these flights, which were supposed to take place in July, were postponed due to what was described as 'technical issues.' On August 8, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it would temporarily allow international airlines to fly to Iran with American-made aircraft, including Boeing. Alongside this, both the United States and Britain have warned their citizens, especially dual nationals, about the potential risks of traveling to Iran, including the possibility of arrest and being banned from leaving. Currently, several citizens from both countries are imprisoned in Iran on security charges.