Iran, Egypt to restore direct flights in August

Iranian and Egyptian authorities intend to restore direct flights between the two countries in August.

According to the Association of Air Transportation and Tourism Services of Iran, the first direct flight between Tehran and Cairo in 45 days will be launched, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reports.

Iraq will no longer be a transit stopover for flights between Iran and Egypt.

Ties between Cairo and Tehran were severed in 1980 after the Islamic Revolution when Egypt gave asylum to deposed Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The bilateral relations were also affected by the Arab Republic's signing of a peace agreement with Israel. The countries did not resume normalising relations until 2010 but have never been officially restored.