Iran, Venezuela launch direct flight amid US sanctions

Iran’s second largest airline, Mahan Air, has launched direct flights to the Venezuelan capital Caracas, marking a further strengthening of bilateral ties as the US tightens sanctions screws on both countries.

According to Press TV, the plane carried foreign ministry officials as well as delegates from Mahan Air, who are visiting Caracas to discuss maintaining regular flights between the two countries, spokesman of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Reza Jafarzadeh said.

The non-stop 16-hour flight deals a blow to US efforts to isolate Iran and Venezuela which have cultivated close bonds over recent years in their shared opposition to “the American hegemony”.

It is also a boost to Mahan Air’s bid to break free from a net of US sanctions on the airline which Washington accuses of providing financial and other support to Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The United States imposed sanctions on the company in 2011. France and Germany banned the airline's flights earlier this year, apparently under pressure from the US.

SS