Private Iranian carrier Mahan Air, accused by US and allies of transporting military equipment to Middle East war zones, on April 8 launched a direct flight to Venezuela.
Iran, like Venezuela subject to US sanctions, is among countries that have voiced support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who is under pressure from the Trump administration to step down. Russia, China, and Turkey have also backed Maduro.
Facing heat from the US, France and Germany banned Mahan Air’s flights earlier this year, citing allegations that it transported military equipment and personnel to Syria and other regional war zones.
Iran’s IRIB news agency quoted Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh as saying that the Venezuela route was launched in the early hours, and that the plane was carrying foreign ministry officials to Caracas, along with a Mahan Air delegation that would discuss maintaining regular flights between Tehran and Caracas. The non-stop Tehran-Caracas flight was scheduled to take 16 hours.
Mahan Air was established in 1992 as Iran’s first private airline. It boasts the country’s largest fleet of aircraft.
The US imposed sanctions on Mahan Air as far back as 2011, saying it provided financial and other support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC).
Related Articles
Office hours to return to normal schedule in Iran
Office, bank, school and higher education institution operating hours will return to normal schedules from April 6, Mehr News Agency reported on April 1. The return to regular schedules comes ... more
Top US economist Steve Hanke ranks Zimbabwe's currency as second worst globally
A prominent American applied economics professor, Steve Hanke, has ranked Zimbabwe's 11-month-old currency as the second worst performer worldwide, estimating it has lost 50% of its value ... more
Iranian judge orders officials to help government manage currency market
Top Iranian judge Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei has ordered judicial officials nationwide to assist the government in controlling the foreign exchange market and stabilising prices ahead of Ramadan and ... more
Most Read
-
Serbian biotech Dren Bio sold to Sanofi for $1.9bn
1 month ago
-
Trump Ukraine envoy Witkoff dismisses Starmer’s Ukraine ceasefire plan, parrots Kremlin talking points
30 days ago
-
Scandal surrounding Hungarian central bank’s investments spreads to Polish developer GTC
29 days ago
-
Zero pressure from US as Imamoglu protesters warn Erdogan snuffing out last remnants of Turkey’s democracy
1 month ago
-
Russian expansion will continue forever ‘as far as God wills,’ says long-time Putin ally
1 month ago