Saudi Arabia bans Iran’s Mahan Air from its air space

5 April 2016, 2:05 pm

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Saudi Arabia bans Iran’s Mahan Air from flying into the kingdom as tensions between the two Mideast powers remain high.

The kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation issues the order Monday night, saying in a statement it was banning the airline over “systematic violations” of the country’s safety regulations and laws.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quotes civil aviation official Ebrahim Moradi on Tuesday as saying Iranian airlines currently have no flights to Saudi Arabia and would use different routes to fly to Africa.

In this March 1, 2015 file photo, Yemeni airport, security and transportation officials greet a plane from the Iranian private airline Mahan Air after it lands in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File)

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mahan Air in 2011 after alleging it aided Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah.

Tensions between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran remain high after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric in January and Iranian protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic posts.

— AP