IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad) plans to continue seeking legal recourse against sanctions imposed on it by the European Union and has appealed against them to individual member states, the deputy director general of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO.IRI), Seyed Hamidreza Sanei, told the state-run news agency ILNA.
“The imposition of sanctions against IranAir was without evidence. The sanctions were imposed under the framework related to Russia, but the claim that IranAir played a role in the transfer of weapons to Russia is completely false. Therefore, IranAir is pursuing legal issues in this regard,” Sanei said. “We know that the process and procedure of legal issues in Europe is very time-consuming.”
In August 2025, the General Court of the European Union dismissed IranAir’s application for interim relief in the form of a suspension of sanctions until its appeal is heard. The Iranian carrier filed a lawsuit against the October 2024 decision imposing sanctions back in December 2024, but the case is ongoing.
Under the current EU sanctions, IranAir is not allowed to operate to the EU, buy goods or services from the bloc, or cooperate with EU entities.
Meanwhile, the airline continues to look for alternative growth markets. Sanei said it would increase the number of flights to Pakistan and was also considering expansion in Tunisia.
This comes shortly after the Central Bank of Iran revealed in its annual report that IranAir was the third-largest debtor of the bank with liabilities estimated at IRR430 million rial (USD10.2 billion) at the end of 2024.