Mubasher: Under pressure from the US, Germany prevented an Iranian airline accused of transporting weaponry and advisers to support President Bashar Al-Asad’s forces in Syrian civil war.

The landing rights of Iran’s Mahan Air were revoked over suspicions that it was used for military purpose by Revolutionary Guards, as well as safety grounds, Thomson Reuters reported, citing a senior German government source.

The move did not constitute the imposition of sanctions against Tehran, the source said.

The withdrawal of Mahan Air's landing rights came after a concerted campaign by the US which first listed the airline as a sanctions target in 2011.

European countries faced sustained pressure from Washington to re-instate sanctions against Iran since US President Donald Trump last year withdrew from a nuclear non-proliferation pact reached under his predecessor Barack Obama.

Last September, outspoken US ambassador to Berlin Richard Grenell voiced his objection to allowing the airline to operate in Germany.

“Why is Mahan Air allowed to fly into Munich and Duesseldorf?” Grenell asked on Twitter.

“Mahan Air has routinely flown fighters and materiel to Syria to prop up the Assad regime,” a press release from the embassy said.