First BA flight to Iran in four years takes off after sanctions lifted

(ShareCast News) - The first British Airways flight in four years took off from London on Thursday in the latest symbol of thawing relations between the west and Iran after the lifting of sanctions.The airline, owned by London-listed International Consolidated Airlines (IAG), will offer six return flights a week from London Heathrow and Tehran, and a daily service will start later this year.BA's three times a week flights to Iran were suspended in October 2012, a year after the British embassy in Tehran was closed after being stormed by protesters over sanctions against its nuclear programme.In 2015 the embassy was reopened after a deal on Iran's nuclear programme was reached with the six world powers - UK, US, France, Russia, Germany and China. In January some sanctions were lifted after Iran had met its nuclear obligations.The first flight to Iran, Boeing 777 departed from Heathrow airport at 0910 on Thursday.BA, the airline which offered the first flights between London and Tehran in 1946, said: "The Iranians have been extremely helpful in setting up this important new route and have been as keen as we are for the service to start."Tehran is an important destination for British Airways and we wanted to ensure that the service we offered met the highest standards our customers rightly expect of us from day one."In April, Air France resumed flights to Tehran after a seven years.On Wednesday the first direct commercial flight since 1961 between the US and Cuba also took place, after the lifting of sanctions against the island nation.Shares in IAG were up 0.44% to 384.70p at 0932 BST.