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KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Suspending Flights to Tehran

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced that it would suspend its direct flights to Tehran, citing commercial reasons, starting from September 24.
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On Saturday, one more European company, French-based CMA CGM Group, which is one of the worldwide leaders in the shipping industry, announced its plans to pull out of Iran following the US decision to reinstate sanctions against Tehran.

"For commercial reasons KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has decided to suspend its direct flights to Tehran, Iran for the time being as of 24 September. As a result of the negative results and financial outlook for the Tehran operation, the last flight will take off from Amsterdam on 22 September 2018 and land at Schiphol on 23 September," the carrier said Saturday in a statement.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines suspended its flights to Tehran back in 2013 over the sanctions imposed on Iran. In 2016, shortly after the Iran nuclear deal, stipulating sanctions relief, took effect, the company resumed direct air traffic with the city.

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In early May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, and restore wide-ranging sanctions on Iran, including secondary sanctions against financial institutions of third countries that do business with Tehran.

Against such a negative background, several US and EU companies have said that they will or may stop doing business with Iran.

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In June, the European Commission said it had adopted an update to the Blocking Statute and the European Investment Bank's External Lending Mandate to protect the interests of EU companies investing in Iran.

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