Iran's flag carrier Iran Air on Wednesday suspended plans to restart flights to Saudi Arabia after an eight-year hiatus despite the gradual easing of political tensions between the two long-time foes.
The Iran Air flights to Saudi Arabia were intended to transport pilgrims to Jeddah and were scheduled to take off from Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan on Wednesday.
But the state-owned IRNA news agency, citing Iran Air spokesman Hesam Ghorbanali, reported that the flights had to be canceled because Saudi authorities did not issue the necessary permits on time.
In a televised statement, Iran’s Minister of Culture Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili tried to play down the decision and described the problem as “a technical agreement” between the countries’ aviation authorities, adding that it was “nothing serious.”
