British oil giant BP refused to refuel Iranian airlines after the US Congress passed a new round of tightened sanctions against Iran last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.A BP spokeswoman said, "we will comply with any international sanctions that are imposed" on Iran.Reports earlier today said that Germany, the UK, and the United Arab Emirates were denying fuel to Iranian planes. However, the claims were refuted by all three countries, according to AFP. A secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union, Mehdi Aliyari, had told the ISNA news agency earlier today that the three countries refused fuel to Iranian planes.RELATED:Analysis: Obama moves from the carrot to the stick"Since last week," said Aliyari, "after the passing of the unilateral law by America and the sanctions against Iran, airports in England, Germany, the UAE have refused to give fuel to Iranian planes."However, all three countries denied the report."It is not correct," Mohammad Reza Rajabi, the head of the airline's operations in Germany, told AFP.A British government spokesman said "at present Her Majesty's Government is not aware of any occasions when fuel has been refused in the UK."A Dubai spokesman said that "Iranian planes traveling to and from Dubai through Dubai International Airport still enjoy the refueling service," he said.
Commercialairliners setting out to Tehran were reportedly prohibited from stopping at airports in certain countries following sanctions recently approved by Congress. According to the official Iranian news agency, Kuwait will also forbid Iranian planes from disembarking on its soil.Aliyari's words referred to passenger aircraft belonging to national airline Iran Air and the privately-owned, Teheran-based Mahan Air.On Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the latest US sanctions passed against the Islamic Republic “pathetic,” according to a Reuters report. On Thursday night, US President Barack Obama officiallysigned a bill turning sweeping new Iran sanctions into law after years of congressional efforts.