Recently, Americans have been pressing Italy to stop the Mahan Airlines flights to Rome and Milan in the wake of their pressures on Iran's aviation industry.
According to reports, Mahan Air will no longer be allowed to fly to its Italian destinations of Rome and Milan come mid-December.
“Along with their pressure on our country, the Americans have pressed Italy to stop Mahan Air flights to Rome and Milan,” said Maqsoud Asadi Samani, secretary of the AIA.
Evidence shows that the White House is trying to extend its unilateral and illegal anti-Iranian sanctions to other countries. Given the principle of sovereignty and on the basis of the unilateral sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on Iran, some countries continue to resist pressure from Washington.
But some European governments, while acknowledging the US sanctions are illegitimate, are in a passive approach to the sanctions. Imposing sanction on Mahan Airlines flights to Rome and Milan is an example of Rome's association with Washington's cruel policies against Tehran.
In this regard, some experts believe that the Italian government will undoubtedly lose opportunities in many areas of joint economic-political cooperation between Tehran and Rome.
The sanction on Mahan Airlines flights to Rome and Milan, on the other hand, would indicate Italy's independence.
However, the least modest action by Western governments in the face of US anti-Iranian sanctions can be not to accompany it; an approach that we have not seen so far from the Italian government.
Importantly, the Italian authorities themselves are aware of the lack of legal documentation against Mahan Airlines.
On the other hand, Mahan Airlines flights’ discipline and quality have prevented any technical claims being made against the airline.
Another important point is that sanctioning Mahan Air by Italy under the pretext of the airline's flights to Syria is in complete contradiction with the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
Accordingly, the Italian government's obedience with the White House and the US Department of the Treasury on sanctioning Mahan Airlines will certainly affect current and future Tehran-Rome relations. Therefore, Italy will introduce itself as a dependent and weak actor in the international system.
The implications of this decision by the Italian government will certainly not be limited to bilateral relations between Tehran and Rome.
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