Germany, France, and the UK – the so-referred to as E3 international locations – have announced coordinated sanctions towards Iran over its alleged provide of ballistic missiles to Russia. The actions will embody the termination of bilateral air provider agreements, albeit deferred for twelve months, and doable sanctions towards majority remark-owned IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad).
“The E3 has privately and publicly been clear that we would take new and significant measures against Iran if the transfers took place. We now have confirmation that Iran has made these transfers. We will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran. In addition, we will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the transfer of ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia. We will also work towards imposing sanctions on IranAir,” the three international locations talked about in a joint assertion.
The cancellation of the bilaterals, as soon as in produce, will effectively pressure all airways to stop affirm flights between the three jurisdictions and Iran. This would perhaps have an impress on Iranian airways as properly as European ones, despite the indisputable fact that in the meanwhile now no longer one of the most aged flies to Iran on a scheduled basis. The ch-aviation schedules module shows that basically the most productive UK-Iran scheduled flights are in the meanwhile operated by IranAir, which flies 3x weekly between Tehran Imam Khomeini and London Heathrow. It also operates weekly to Paris CDG in France, and 2x weekly to Cologne/Bonn and weekly every to Frankfurt Worldwide and Hamburg Helmut Schmidt in Germany.
IranAir’s EU network also involves Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, and Vienna. Austrian Airways is in the meanwhile basically the most productive EU provider serving Iran on a scheduled basis.
The E3 international locations did now no longer show which sanctions they have been brooding about towards IranAir. As a customary rule, international sanctions are imposed by the European Union rather than its particular person member states, corresponding to Germany or France.
The CEO of the Iranian flag provider, Shamseddin Farzadipour, therefore told local media that the airline had now no longer got any notification of most up-to-date sanctions that will perchance perchance jeopardise its operations no lower than for now.
The US simultaneously imposed extra sanctions on IranAir, despite the indisputable fact that the provider and its total hasty have been already designated by the US Workplace of International Sources Alter (OFAC) as a govt-owned entity in Iran since 2018 below Govt Expose 13599. The unique designations have been imposed below Govt Expose 14024 in relation to IranAir’s alleged position in supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine and below Govt Expose 13949 in relation to the provider’s alleged position in carrying dilapidated fingers to and from Iran.
The unique designations manufacture now no longer impact IranAir as it was already banned from any transactions with the US or preserving US-made items.
