Iran is refusing to refuel some European and Arab airlines at its main international airport in a tit-for-tat move over major oil companies denying fuel to Iranian planes abroad, the airport's chief said Saturday. "Government directives" ordered the ban, Morteza Dehqan, head of Tehran's Imam Khomeini international airport, told the ISNA news agency.
"In a reciprocal move, we are not giving fuel to the airlines of countries which do not give fuel to our airlines," he said. He did not say when the decision was adopted. AFP could not immediately confirm which foreign airlines were affected by the decision.
In October, Iran's foreign ministry warned it would "confront" Western companies for refusing to refuel its planes in Europe, which it called a violation of international law. European authorities and airports have been silent about the reported measures, which are separate to unilateral restrictions the EU imposed soon after the UN Security Council adopted a fourth set of sanctions against Tehran in June.