Germany to bar Iran's US-sanctioned Mahan Air

Germany is to ban flights in and out of the country by Iran’s Mahan Air, which is under US sanctions over allegations it ferries troops and supplies into Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad, a newspaper reported on Friday, Reuters reports.

Bild said the German government had taken the decision to stop Mahan Air from operating its flights to Dusseldorf and Munich after intensive deliberations on US demands.

A German government spokesman said he could not comment on the report in Bild, which said Mahan Air would be banned in January.

The US government has sanctioned several companies for their links to Mahan Air, including a Thai aviation company and a Malaysia-based sales agent.

The US embassy in Berlin has criticised Germany for allowing the airline to fly to the two major cities. Mahan Air says on its website that it also operates flights to Paris, Barcelona, Milan and Athens.

Germany and its European Union partners are at odds with the United States over policy towards Iran.

US President Donald Trump in May pulled out of a deal between Iran and major powers intended to constrain Tehran’s nuclear programme and reinstated sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

France and Germany are leading efforts to ensure Iran does not quit the deal, engineered by Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.

READ: US imposes sanctions on Thai company it accuses of aiding Iran