Iran stops refuelling 'Western planes'

 Herald Sun--IRAN has stopped refuelling "western passenger planes" since Europe-bound Iranian commercial planes were refused fuelling there, the first vice-president was quoted as saying in the governmental Iran newspaper today.

"Recently fuel supply for Iranian passenger planes flying to Europe was stopped," Mohammed Reza Rahimi said.

"Iran decided immediately to strike back and banned supply of fuel to Western passenger planes landing in Iran," Rahimi added without specifying when the decision by the Islamic republic was implemented and which companies were targeted.

The decision by European oil companies was apparently taken in support of Western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, even though sanctions adopted by the European Union do not include such measures.

Unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, however, target gasoline and jet fuel supplies to Iran.

A number of European oil companies stopped refuelling Iranian planes six months ago and in March France's Total and Austria's OMV followed suit. Continued…