India blocks Iranian medicine flights fearing US sanctions: report

New Delhi: India has stopped granting Iranian aircraft permission to fly in and collect medicines since early August, reportedly fearing that facilitating direct flights could expose Indian entities to US sanctions, leaving urgently needed medical supplies stranded.

According to The Wire, an Iranian source said a Mahan Air flight scheduled to collect several tonnes of medicines from India had yet to receive landing clearance. Tehran has continued to seek direct flights despite New Delhi proposing an alternative route through Armenia or Azerbaijan, with the medicines transported overland into Iran.

Iran Air had also failed to secure permission to transport pharmaceuticals from Mumbai and Singapore, the airline’s managing director, Taher Abdolhay, said at a press conference in Tehran on October 19.

India had previously facilitated special Mahan Air flights carrying medicines approximately once every two weeks, even after regular passenger services were suspended following the outbreak of war between the US, Israel and Iran on February 28. One aircraft scheduled to collect donated medicines was struck in a US attack on March 30, leaving around 40 tonnes of supplies stranded in India.

The restrictions have tightened amid Washington’s expanding sanctions against Iranian airlines and businesses supporting their operations. US authorities have warned that ground handlers and other service providers assisting Iranian aircraft could face penalties, including exclusion from the US financial system.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the regional conflict had created fresh challenges for air connectivity and that officials remained in contact with Tehran to facilitate the delivery of life-saving medicines as a humanitarian measure.

However, the absence of direct-flight clearances has complicated the transfer of medical supplies already purchased for Iran, with the proposed overland alternative yet to resolve the dispute.