German health minister stops flights from Iran due to lack of transparency

The "Post" reported in March that German airports and authorities defied an announcement from Transportation Minister Andreas Scheuer to bar flights from Iran.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
AN IRAN AIR Boeing 747 (photo credit: REUTERS)
AN IRAN AIR Boeing 747
(photo credit: REUTERS)
BERLIN—After weeks of delay and defiance from authorities, German Health Minister Jens Spahn appears to have implemented a ban on flights from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Germany.
Spahn tweeted on Wednesday: "The new Infection Protection Act now makes it possible: Flights from Iran to Germany are prohibited with immediate effect.
"We are placing strict restrictions on the epidemic in Germany - we cannot allow flights from this high-risk area.”
He justified his decision because "the actual events in Iran are very non-transparent."
Germany has permitted scores of Iran Air flights to enter the federal republic. The US Department of Treasury sanctioned Iran Air in 2011 for “providing material support and services to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” and Defense Ministry and Armed Forces Logistics.
The Trump administration reimposed sanctions on Iran Air after the 2015 nuclear deal lifted economic penalties on the airline.
The Jerusalem Post reported in March that German airports and authorities defied an announcement from Transportation Minister Andreas Scheuer to bar flights from the coronavirus-infected hotspots of the Islamic Republic of Iran and China.
German-Iranian dissident Kazem Moussavi tweeted at the time: “Shame on Appeasement! Politics allows the Corona-Mullah-Airline to land in Germany.”