Under US pressure, Spain follows EU peers in banning Iran airline
The Spanish government has revoked the landing rights of Iran’s Mahan Air, apparently under US pressure which has intensified amid the coronavirus.
La Vanguardia newspaper cited sources in the Spanish civil aviation authority DGAC as saying that Mahan Air has been forced to terminate its service to Barcelona from March 23.
Flights between Barcelona and Tehran had run twice weekly, but Mahan Air had to quit route the when Spain suddenly cancelled the airline’s license.
The sources made it clear that the suspension was not linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Swiss-based ch-aviation, which collects and publishes information about the airline business, suggested that the revocation followed a US campaign to pressure Iran.
The US government has largely gone out on its own to intensify illegal sanctions on Iran despite opposition by European and other world countries, but the EU has continued to submit to American coercion at the same time.
In revoking the flights, Spain has just followed a wider trend in Europe where Germany, France, and Italy have all asked Iranian carriers to desist from flying into their airports.
Last month, Germany ordered Iran Air to suspend its flights to the country.
Iran’s flag carrier used airports in Cologne, Bonn, Frankfurt and Hamburg for passenger and cargo flights.
Even as the German government linked its decision to the coronavirus crisis, it had revoked the license of Mahan Air in January 2019 after heavy US pressure. France banned the airline in March 20190, accusing it of transporting military equipment and personnel to Syria and other war zones.
Italy followed their lead in mid-December last year following a meeting between its Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and hawkish US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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