BREAKING NEWS

Germany bans Iranian airline from its airspace after US pressure

BERLIN - Germany has revoked the license of an Iranian airline because it has been transporting military equipment and personnel to Syria and other Middle East war zones, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after heavy U.S. pressure on Berlin to act.
The United States imposed sanctions on Mahan Air in 2011, saying it provided financial and other support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and has been pressing its European allies to follow suit.
The German ban on the airline takes immediate effect, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Monday that the "U.S. Treasury appreciates the important decision by Germany to deny Mahan Air's landing rights. Mahan routinely flies IRGC-QF and weapons to Syria, is subject to our terrorism secondary sanctions, and should be denied access around the world."
Contacted by Reuters, Mahan Air in Tehran said it could not comment immediately on the ban.