EU bans Iran Air flights

The European Union (EU) is set to ban Iran Air aircraft from flying to the EU because of safety concerns.

The safety of the Iranian national carrier’s Airbus A320, Boeing 727 and 747 jets was the subject of the concern, due to a 30-year-old US-imposed ban on the sale of spare parts to Iran.

The decision to place the airline on the EU’s no-fly list had nothing to do with the sanctions imposed on Iran due to its ongoing nuclear programme, an EU spokesperson stressed.

"We deal purely with safety requirements," said Transport Commission spokeswoman Helen Kearns, AP reported.

"Our controls focus entirely on safety, nothing else,”

Earlier this week, an Iranian official alleged that Iran Air and private carrier Mahan Air had been prevented from refuelling at airports in the UK, Germany and the UAE.

Iranian Airlines Union secretary Mehdi Aliyari told Iranian media: "Since last week, our planes have been refused fuel at airports in Britain, Germany and UAE because of the sanctions imposed by America."

The Iran foreign ministry has since denied the claims.