Despite certain European airports' refusal to refuel IranAir planes, none of the company's flights have been cancelled, the head of the Iranian flag carrier says, Press TV reported.
"In addition to European oil companies, some of non-European companies have also imposed restrictions on providing IranAir planes with fuel, but this issue has not caused the company's flights to be canceled," the company's chairman, Farhad Parvaresh, said on Saturday.
Parvaresh added that Iranian planes were facing no refueling problems in other airports, explaining further that the Iranian airline would get its required fuel from other oil companies.
Pointing to international regulations and the Chicago Convention, the IranAir chairman said the fuel refusal was in violation of such laws in place, adding that Tehran would legally pursue the matter through international bodies.
"The Chicago Convention has clearly announced that sanctions should not be adopted against passenger airplanes," IRNA quoted Parvaresh as saying.
"When two countries sign aerial contracts, they are duty-bound to facilitate the safe and secure flight of the other country's national carrier," he explained.
"The Islamic Republic has provided all such facilities for aerial companies which have flights to Iran," Parvaresh said, adding that Tehran expects the same from these companies.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that the measure was illegal and it did not even fall under the UN Security Council's (UNSC) resolution against the country, adding that Iran will not tolerate such illegitimate moves and will retaliate should such efforts continue.
This comes as The Washington Post reported last week that several major oil firms, including British Petroleum , Royal Dutch Shell and Q8, have abruptly cancelled jet fuel delivery contracts with IranAir.
On June 9, the UNSC imposed a US-engineered sanctions resolution against Iran's financial and military sectors over Western allegations that Tehran is pursuing a military nuclear program.
Following the UNSC sanctions, the US took unilateral measures against Tehran, seeking to prevent the country's access to refined oil products and penalize foreign companies that help Iran's energy sector.
Tehran refutes the charges, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency the country has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy.