The Islamic Republic’s flag-carrier Iran Air aims to return to its highly valued European routes, its chief executive said, in an interview with local Persian-language state media on September 8.

The Iranian airline lost its UK and EU flights when the two added sanctions on the main Iranian airline after the collapse of the JCPOA in 2018, when US President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal. The EU and UK levied further sanctions on the Iranian airline after relations broke down. The bloc and Britain imposed the measures over allegations Iran had supplied drones and missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Tehran denies.

Chief executive Taher Abdolhay said European flights had been out of reach for about two years, since the EU sanctioned the airline for political reasons in October 2024 and barred it from the bloc.

Iran Air was the only Iranian carrier to hold a Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation for EU entry, he said. He added the short-term priority was expanding East Asia flights, with a return to Europe the strategic goal at an unconfirmed later date.

Iran Air had previously flown to Stockholm, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Milan, Vienna, Athens and Madrid, and had earlier served destinations including Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Mumbai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

He said tightening sanctions had progressively cut the airline's ability to refuel in Europe, until it could no longer do so anywhere on the continent.

Only its Airbus JCPOA-era A330 could operate return services to Europe without refuelling, and the fleet had relied on it for such flights over the past decade.

Because the airline could not carry out annual safety audits during the two-year suspension, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) allowed its TCO authorisation to expire in mid-July.

Even if the EU reversed its decision, Abdolhay said, audits and technical inspections would be needed before it could reissue the certification and resume flights.

He said Iran Air had pursued the matter with its legal team and in coordination with the foreign and roads ministries, and had filed a complaint that the EU rejected, after which EASA cancelled the TCO.

The remaining obstacles were EU approval followed by recertification by EASA, he said, adding that flights of five to six hours to London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt could resume if sanctions were lifted.

The airline has been affected by the US-Israel war on Iran, which continues in a less direct way currently; at least one Iran Air plane was destroyed at Bushehr Airport during the earlier attacks, with at least 20 passenger planes completely destroyed or damaged by attacks on airports across the country by Israeli and American forces. 

Iran produces its own aviation fuel domestically, and state-linked media, including Mehr News Agency, reported that local supplies were largely unaffected by the US strikes.