Sorry, but Delta Is Not Flying Direct to Tehran
Tehran might "welcome" direct flights between the United States and Iran, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. On Wednesday, Iran’s PressTV reported that the country’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, had told reporters that "launching direct flights is for the sake of public welfare, and we have no problem with this issue." The ...
Tehran might "welcome" direct flights between the United States and Iran, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen.
Tehran might "welcome" direct flights between the United States and Iran, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
On Wednesday, Iran’s PressTV reported that the country’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, had told reporters that "launching direct flights is for the sake of public welfare, and we have no problem with this issue." The PressTV article cited Mehr News Agency, another Iranian media outlet, reporting that the United States and Iran are preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding that would allow direct flights between the two countries, and that Delta Air Lines was one of the participating carriers (such a report does not appear to still be on Mehr News’ English-language website, though Iran’s Fars News Agency also ran with the news).
The report was met with appropriate skepticism on Twitter:
‘Tehran welcomes direct Iran-US flights’ http://t.co/trGtt0u5Lh this can’t be real?? @Delta
— Adam Nima Pourahmadi (@ANPour) June 26, 2013
Delta Airlines and #Iran Air, are expected to transport passengers between Iran and the US — True? Doubt it http://t.co/UV5GRgpXgX
— Holly Dagres (@PoliticallyAff) June 26, 2013
Appropriate because the news seems to be completely made up. Anthony Black, a spokesman for Delta, flatly denied the report to Foreign Policy, explaining that providing service to Iranian airports would violate sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assistance Control. "So," he said, "what you have, heard, seen, read: untrue…. We have done nothing on our part to engage in any service to Iran."
So, if you’re headed to Tehran, keep looking for connecting flights.
J. Dana Stuster was an assistant editor at Foreign Policy from 2013-2014. Twitter: @jdanastuster
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