Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that technical failure was the cause of delay for passage of Angela Merkel's plane over Iran's airspace, IRNA reported.
"As soon as the technical problem was removed, the plane continued its path through Iran's airspace", Mehmanparast said.
He said that Iran had issued clearance for Ms Merkel's flight beforehand and acknowledged the clearance to German Embassy in Tehran. So, the delay in German chancellor's flight occured due to technical problem.
German chancellor Angela Merkel passed through Iranian airspace to New Delhi.
Iran temporarily withdrew flyover rights on Tuesday for a plane carrying German Chancellor Angela Merkel to India, forcing it to circle over Turkey for almost two hours before restoring the rights.