Iranian airlines Iran Air and Mahan Air are still prevented from flying to Italy due to a combination of health and security concerns.

Iran Air had recently struck a deal with Rimini’s Federico Fellini airport in a bid to promote Iranian tourism and commerce in the Italian peninsula. The company was already operating in two other major Italian airports. However, no flights from Iran will be allowed within European borders for the time being.

Iran didn’t figure in the EU’s short list of countries cleared to enter the bloc during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. According to official figures, Iran is still struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus, and that’s without considering the reliability of data provided by the Islamic Republic, over which doubts have been cast.

Mahan Air was most likely responsible for flying Covid-19 infected passengers from China to Iran, which has become the main coronavirus hotspot in the Middle East. Given the traffic between Tehran and Europe, the airline might have contributed to the spread of the virus in the early days of the pandemic, even if laterally.

On top of that, more geopolitical issues are complicating relations between Iranian carriers and Italy. Both airlines are under sanctions from the US over their ties with the Iranian regime. Thus, the EU borders ruling constitutes a welcome break for Italy, which had been under pressure from the US to stop aviation deals with Tehran.

Washington believes Mahan Air to be closely associated with the Pasdaran, also known as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and possibly with Middle Eastern terrorist organisations. The Americans also think that Mahan Air flies soldiers and weapons to Syria and Iraq and allows Venezuela and Iran to exchange gold for oil and Chinese-built refinery material.

Just last December, Mahan Air was completely grounded by Italy following requests from US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. After a meeting with Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio in October, he mentioned their discussion about the suspension of Mahan Air’s aviation licence.

The aforementioned health and security risks were examined in a parliamentary interrogation recently filed by MP Antonio Zennaro and addressed to prime minister Giuseppe Conte. As the head of government is yet to answer, the EU’s border ruling has provided him with an additional reason to defer the decision.

Rome and Tehran had always enjoyed friendly relations since the foundation of the Islamic Republic. As of 2017, Italy was Iran’s largest trading partner within the EU. Federica Mogherini, who served as Italy’s foreign minister and as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was a key figure in supporting Europe’s nuclear non-proliferation talks with Iran, even as US president Donald Trump walked back from the deal. Mrs. Mogherini hoped that the talks could become a springboard for closer economic and political cooperation with Tehran.

Last month, the Italian Senate’s foreign commission heard from Iranian ambassador Hamid Bayat, who praised Italy’s status as a “privileged partner” of Iran’s and the country’s potentiality for aiding the stabilisation process in the Middle East. During the hearing, he stressed how Iran was not interested in building an atomic bomb, despite a recent report hinting at the opposite. He also hurled criticism at Israel – Iran’s main rival in the area and close ally to the US – expressing anger at the West’s “double standards” on Middle Eastern nations hinging on geopolitical alliances.

The governing Five Star Movement assumed a warmer stance towards the Iranian ambassador than towards his Israeli counterpart, which whom they had recently incurred in a tense exchange. By contrast, centre-right opposition senators (members of Forza Italia and Fratelli d’Italia) received no answer when they posed Mr. Bayat questions regarding Israel and the Iranian Supreme leader’s calls to “destroy” it.

As of now, it is unclear if and when Iranian airlines will be allowed to resume their activities in Italy.