Iran sparks diplomatic row with Germany closing airspace to Angela Merkel
Iran briefly closed its airspace to Angela Merkel's plane as she flew to India, delaying her arrival and sparking a diplomatic row with Germany.
The German chancellor was held up as she flew overnight for a meeting on Tuesday with Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister. Her plane was forced to circle for two hours over Turkey before receiving permission to cross Iran.
The Iranian ambassador in Berlin was summoned by Guido Westerwelle, the foreign minister, who said hindering Mrs Merkel's route was "absolutely unacceptable".
The reasons for the delay were not immediately known and a second plane with four of Merkel's ministers and other delegation members was not held up.
German government sources in Berlin said Mrs Merkel's plane was only able to enter Iranian airspace after "intensive diplomatic intervention in Berlin and Tehran."
They said permission to fly over Iran had been granted by Tehran initially and it was "still unclear" why it was later withdrawn.
Germany is one of six world powers attempting to convince Iran to abandon sensitive nuclear work, which they fear is a front for a drive to develop an atomic arsenal. Tehran denies such intentions.
Berlin has repeatedly backed UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme and this month the European Union added a Germany-based Iranian-owned bank to its sanctions list.
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