Tehran's newly operational international airport was closed on 8 May by the army, just a day after it opened. Despite the government's orders to reopen the Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA), the military refused on the grounds that it 'threatened the security of the country and its dignity'.
The dispute arose after Turkey's Tepe Akfen Vie Investment Construction & Operation (TAV) signed in early May a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract covering the operation of terminal 1 at IKIA. Almost immediately after the start of operations, the army said that it would not permit 'foreign groups' to operate the facility. 'Unfortunately airport officials took this untimely decision without taking into account either security constraints or the Supreme Council law on national security banning the use of foreign forces,' it said in a statement (MEED 30:4:04).
The government seems apparently powerless to force army chiefs to reopen the airport. Iran's powerful military is controlled by conservative elements opposed to President Mohammed Khatami's reforming government. The airport's forced closure is a bitter blow to economic reform and plans by Tehran to attract more foreign investment.
Flights to Iran are currently being diverted to the capital's other airport at Mehrabad.
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