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Malaysia Stops Refuelling For Iranian Airlines, So No More Direct Flights From KL To Tehran

Malaysia Stops Refuelling For Iranian Airlines, So No More Direct Flights From KL To Tehran

The refuelling companies at Malaysian airports are not selling due to US sanctions.

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Due to U.S. sanctions, Iranian airlines will no longer be able to refuel in Malaysia.

As a result, they will no longer fly direct from the Iranian capital Tehran to Malaysian airports.

According to Iran International, the refuelling companies at Malaysian airports buy their fuel from U.S. companies.

As such, they would be penalised if they refuel planes from the Islamic Republic.

Iranian airline Mahan Air was sanctioned in 2008 by the U.S. due to its connection to the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations.

Despite the 2008 sanction, Iranian airlines continued to fly in several countries, including Malaysia.

Recently, the secretary of Iran’s Aviation Companies Association, Maghsoud Asadi-Samani, said Mahan Airlines would operate the last Iranian flight to Kuala Lumpur.

The end of the route would undoubtedly be sad news for travellers and a major loss for Iranian aviation as Malaysia is a significant base in Southeast Asia.

The Kuala Lumpur-Tehran flight was quite popular, with two to three flights per week before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

After the travel sector reopened, Mahan Air retained a weekly service, flight W583, between Tehran Iman Khomeini International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Some said Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia should take over the eight-hour route from Mahan Air to circumvent the sanction.

War On Terror

In 2018, the U.S. sanctioned the airline’s ticketing agency in Malaysia, Mahan Travel and Tourism Sdn Bhd, for being involved with the Iranian Regime.

All assets and interests related to this Malaysia-based company inside U.S. jurisdiction were confiscated.

It’s not the first time that Malaysia has been caught in the crossfire.

In 2010, Petronas had to stop supplying petrol to Iran due to the threat of U.S. sanctions on oil firms

In 2019, a tanker carrying Iranian fuel oil had to lie offshore in Malaysia due to oil trading restrictions on Iran.

It has been alleged that Malaysia helps circumvent the sanctions by helping sell Iranian oil through its port to East Asian countries.

https://twitter.com/chigrl/status/1495871713569128456

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