Germany has banned Iran’s Mahan Air from landing in the country with immediate effect, citing security concerns and the airline’s involvement in Syria, officials said Monday.
Mahan Air is on a U.S. sanctions list and Washington has long urged allies to ban the airline from their territories.
The decision to ban it came after consultations with European allies and the U.S., Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.
The airline had several weekly flights between Tehran and German cities. The company’s general sales office in Germany said it had no comment on the ban.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger said the decision was taken to safeguard Germany’s “foreign and security policy interests,” citing increasing evidence of Iranian intelligence activity in Europe.
In addition, he said the airline has ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and provides military transport flights to Syria. Iran has supported Syria’s President Bashar Assad.