Ilna news agency quoted AIRA Secretary General Maqsoud Asadi Samani as saying that Iran Air has stopped air services between Iran and Europe.

"Iran Air is the only airline operating flights from Iran to Europe. Following the new EU sanctions against Iran Air, no more Iranian planes will depart for the continent," Mr. Samani stressed.

The decision by AIRA was made after Iran Air was placed on the EU sanctions list for allegedly participating in the transportation of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.

Last month, the US cited intelligence shared with European allies that concluded Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and used them for a special military operation in Ukraine.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected accusations from the US and its allies, affirming that the Tehran government did not provide ballistic missiles to Russia.

The EU's sanctions list also includes Saha Airlines and Mahan Air, Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari, officials of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and directors of the country's aircraft manufacturing industry.

The sanctions include a decision to freeze the assets of affected individuals and organizations, and these people are also banned from entering EU territory.

In a related development, the UK also imposed separate sanctions on nine Iranian individuals and organizations for the same reason.