As the official website of Iran Air wrote, Tehran-Rome (and back) flights will be operated weekly from Imam Khomeini International Airport on Mondays and Thursdays, according to Financial Tribune.
Iran Air, also known as Homa, currently operates weekly flights to Milan on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The upcoming launch of this flight comes as Italy banned flights by Iran’s Mahan Air as of mid-December after the United States sought action against the airline by accusing it of transporting military equipment and personnel to Middle East war zones, an allegation the Iranian airline denies.
“Along with their pressure on our country, the Americans have pressed Italy to stop Mahan Air flights to Rome and Milan,” Maqsoud Asadi-Samani, secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
Germany revoked the airline’s license in January in the wake of US pressure, while France banned it in March.
The United States imposed sanctions on Mahan in 2011.
The Tehran-based carrier, established in 1992 as Iran’s first private airline, has the country’s largest fleet of aircraft (sharing the fleet size with Iran Air) and routes to a number of European and Asian countries.
3 Airbus Planes to Join Iran's Air Fleet
Three Airbus passenger planes will be delivered to Iran in the near future, despite the fact that the US unilateral sanctions are barring foreign companies and entities from selling anything related to civil aviation to the Islamic Republic, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami said recently.
The minister neither elaborated on the deliveries, nor did he say which airline would be the recipient of the new planes.
Local media reports suggest the planes will be delivered to Iran Air.
There was no confirmation from the company, Fars News Agency reported.
According to Asadi-Samani, considering the US prohibition of sales of aircraft to Iran, the Airbus planes Eslami referred to will be secondhand.