Iran's Reaction to Reports of Fuel Supply Refusal to Zarif's Plane in Munich

Bahrām Qāsemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, stated on Wednesday, March 1, that the "unintentional delay" by the fuel supply companies at Munich Airport in refueling Mohammad Javad Zarif's plane was "not a complicated issue." German media reported that ten days prior, during Zarif's attendance at the Munich Security Conference, the fuel supply companies at the airport refused to refuel his plane. Meanwhile, the German Ministry of Defense confirmed on Wednesday that it had to intervene following the Munich Airport's refusal to refuel Zarif's aircraft. Qāsemi mentioned that "this issue was not as major and complicated as reported; the matter was that due to the short duration of Dr. Zarif's trip to Munich and the time constraints faced by our delegation for their trip to Moscow, the fuel companies at Munich Airport encountered some hesitations and unintentional delays." He added, "Ultimately, to prevent any issues with our delegation's trip to Russia and Zarif's participation in the Valdai Discussion Club meeting, through coordination with the German Foreign Ministry, the problems were resolved, and the refueling of our delegation's plane was completed." The reason for Munich Airport's refusal to refuel Zarif's aircraft was cited as "fear of violating Iran sanctions." IRNA also reported that Zarif arrived in Munich from India at the head of a diplomatic delegation to participate in the 54th Munich Security Conference on February 18 and left Munich later that day for Moscow to attend and speak at the Valdai International Conference. The English website Deutsche Welle noted that Munich Airport had informed the Iranian Foreign Minister a week before the security conference that it could not provide fuel for his diplomatic aircraft due to concerns from the fuel supply companies about violating Iran sanctions. According to the report, Munich Airport suggested to the Iranian Foreign Minister to either bring fuel with him or go to Vienna Airport to refuel there. Deutsche Welle added that Iran refused these suggestions and requested Wolfgang Ischinger, the head of the Munich Security Conference, to take action in this regard. The report further states that at Ischinger's request to the German Foreign Ministry, a day before the security conference, the German Ministry of Defense agreed to take responsibility for refueling the Iranian Foreign Minister's aircraft, and soldiers carried out the refueling while Zarif was speaking. Iran and the 1+5 group reached an agreement in July 2015 in Vienna regarding the resolution of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the JCPOA, Tehran agreed to halt a significant portion of its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting or suspension of international sanctions against Iran. However, unilateral U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic remain in place, creating fears among many private companies worldwide that selling goods to Iran could lead to trouble in the U.S. market.