"Mahan Air will have to halt its Paris flights as of April 1. They notified me in an email," tweeted an Iranian passenger who had booked a flight to the French capital. Airline officials have confirmed the cancellations, saying French government sanctions forced the ban. Mahan is Iran's second-largest carrier with its Paris schedule covering four flights on a weekly basis.
The airline has already suffered similar bans, including one imposed by Germany in January. German officials cited security reasons amid allegations about Iran's involvement in assassination plots on European soil, an accusation Tehran has vehemently denied. Earlier in March, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed his country's dissatisfaction with the decision, stressing "the necessity for a reconsideration." But the ban still remains in place.