Austria’s OMV ends Iran Air fuel contract – paper

Reuters: Oil and gas group OMV has not renewed a fuel supply contract with Iran’s state airline because of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic, an Austrian newspaper reported.

VIENNA, March 27 (Reuters) – Oil and gas group OMV has not renewed a fuel supply contract with Iran’s state airline because of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic, an Austrian newspaper reported. The move means Iran Air planes can no longer fill up at Vienna airport, the Wiener Zeitung reported in its weekend edition. The contract expired on March 23, it said.

“As an international company, OMV always operates within the agreed regulations,” OMV spokesman Sven Pusswald was quoted by the paper as saying. “Following the EU, U.N. and U.S. sanctions against Tehran we decided not to extend the contract because it would not be in accord with U.S. sanctions.”

He gave no further details about the contract. OMV was not immediately available for further comment.

According to Wiener Zeitung, OMV was one of the last major oil companies that had been supplying Iran Air with fuel.

Officials at Vienna Airport were not available for comment as to whether Iran Air planes had been grounded as a result. (Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by David Holmes)