The state airline Iran Air should not be privatized after all. Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami said at a press conference on Wednesday that the carrier had been removed from the list of companies to be privatized.

In his address, the government member said that Iran Air is a “national asset” and that efforts to find private owners have so far been unsuccessful. This would also be because the external conditions would make a sale difficult. Therefore, it has now been decided that the airline will remain in state ownership.

The corona pandemic has meant that privatization would bring an incalculable risk. So it would be possible that private owners are unwilling or unable to cope with the high costs. At a later point in time, when the airline has fully recovered, Iran wants to make a new sales attempt. There is no time horizon for this.