Government Official: No Iranian Airlines Will Fly to Europe Anymore; Users: We Have Been Excluded from the World

The Secretary of the Association of Airlines stated that among Iranian companies, "only Iran Air had flights to Europe," and with the new sanctions imposed by the European Union, no Iranian airlines will fly to this continent anymore. Following the announcement of EU sanctions against three Iranian airlines, namely Iran Air, Mahan, and Saha, Moghaddas Asadi Samani told ILNA news agency that from now on, demand for travel to European destinations will "shift towards foreign airlines," which, according to him, "given the specific conditions of the region, some foreign airlines have also limited or canceled their flights to Iran." He also mentioned that European flights will now be established through connecting flights from intermediary countries like Turkey or the UAE. At the same time, citizen reports have indicated that Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran is quite empty. Siamak Ghasemi, an economist, emphasized that "this level of isolation and being boycotted is perhaps unprecedented in recent years," and wrote on social media on Tuesday, October 24, "Pay attention to the flights in the last 24 hours at Imam Airport; our connections have become Istanbul, Dubai, Najaf, Moscow, Muscat, and Yerevan." Additionally, economic activist Ali Shariati pointed out that the three-day closure of Iran's most important airport last week only caused "delays for Iranians" and had "no impact on the world." He stressed, "If Dubai or Istanbul were closed for just one day, the global air transport system would be paralyzed. We have been excluded from the world in this way." The EU sanctions against the Iranian Deputy Minister of Defense, senior members of the Revolutionary Guards, and three airlines were welcomed by several officials from the EU and member countries, Israel, and also some members of the European Parliament. According to the sanctions announced on Monday, October 23, the names of three Iranian airlines, Iran Air, Mahan Air, and Saha, as well as Hamzeh Qalandari, the Iranian Deputy Minister of Defense, are among those sanctioned. The EU stated that the aircraft of these companies have "often been used to transfer Iranian-made drones and related technologies to Russia," which Russia has utilized in its "aggressive war" against Ukraine.