Iran briefly refused to allow a plane carrying German Chancellor Angela Merkel to India to enter its airspace, forcing the government aircraft to circle over Turkey for almost two hours before giving clearance. Merkel, the latest in a series of world leaders to come to India seeking to do business with Asia’s third largest economy, landed safely, but Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle summoned Iran´s ambassador to Germany to his office in Berlin following the incident. “I’m very glad I arrived here safely in India,” Merkel told a news conference jointly held with Indian PM Manmohan Singh. “We have never experienced anything like this before,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Siebert added.
Germany, along with the United States and other Western powers have been at odds with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme. The European Union last week significantly extended its sanctions against Iran in a sign of mounting frustration at a lack of progress in nuclear talks with Tehran. A Reuters journalist travelling with Merkel said Iran withdrew the rights, which had been granted previously, just as the plane entered Iranian air space. It was unclear exactly why Iran did not allow the Airbus aircraft to fly through its airspace. “We will emphasize quite clearly that such a violation of international customs will not be accepted at all,” Westerwelle said. “That shows a disrespect for Germany that we will not accept.”