IATA halts ticket services to Iran Air
Source: Press TV
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says it must close its payment services to Iranian citizens using the state-owned airline Iran Air due to the sanctions imposed on the country.
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Sanctions Iran's National Airline
Chris Goater, the spokesman of the Geneva-based IATA, said on
Monday that the decision was made in accordance with the economic and political
sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States.
Goater added that according to the terms of the sanctions, the association is
obliged to suspend Iran Air's ticket payment transactions.
Following the previous round of US sanctions against Iran Air, Iran's ambassador
to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaei, said in a letter to UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon that the issue of sanctions imposed on Iran Air was an
example of how the US is directly targeting Iran's civilian and non-military
entities.
"Despite the deceptive and hostile claims by the US that the sanctions solely
target firms, legal entities and individuals associated with Iran's peaceful
nuclear program... there is no doubt that the aim of these hostile actions are to
pressure the entire Iranian nation," he said.
Iran Air has been facing US sanctions since 1995. Washington has forbidden the
sale of Boeing spare parts to the airline. The EU also followed suit in 2010 by
preventing Iran's civilian aircraft from using its airspace.
The IATA's action is actually a measure against the Iranian people since it will
make traveling difficult for them.
Iran says such measures are violations of international obligations and even
exceed the terms of the sanction resolutions of the United Nations Security
Council, which it also regards as unfair.
Related News: Iran calls for IATA to follow international rules after sanctions imposed on Iran Air
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