British Airways resumes direct flights to Tehran as sanctions ease

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways resumes direct flights to Tehran on Thursday after four years of suspension due to western sanctions on Iran. The airline, owned by IAG, will become the second European carrier to resume flights to Iran after Air France. The first BA flight is due to leave Heathrow on Thursday evening. "British Airways has a long history of flying to Iran so we are very excited to be launching our new six times a week service, direct from Heathrow to Tehran”, said a spokesman. The service follows the relaxation of sanctions against Iran and the reopening of the British embassy in the Iranian capital last year which was ransacked by protesters in 2011. (Reporting by Laura Gardner Cuesta; editing by Stephen Addison)