Iran says that Britain, Germany and the United Arab Emirates are refusing to provide fuel to Iranian passenger planes.

The move, which has not been confirmed, follows unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, the Isna news agency reported.

The sanctions are designed to impede the development of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran says its nuclear industry is for peaceful purposes but Western powers fear it is trying to develop a bomb.

“Since last week, our planes have been refused fuel at airports in Britain, Germany and UAE because of the sanctions imposed by America,” Mehdi Aliyari, secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union, told the news agency.

“Refusing to provide fuel to Iranian passenger planes by these countries is violation of international conventions,” he said.

Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said Iran would retaliate.

“Iran will do the same to ships and planes of those countries that cause problems for us,” Isna quoted him as saying.

However, a spokeswoman for the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) told Reuters that it was continuing to supply Iranian jets with fuel.

ADAC manages the airports for the cities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in the UAE.

“We have contracts with Iranian passenger flights and continue to allow refuelling,” she said.

The new US sanctions, signed into law by President Barack Obama last week, penalise foreign companies that trade with Iran.

Under the new measures, any company providing fuel to Iran would be penalised under American law.

An Iranian aviation official said Iranian airliners were filling up with as much fuel as possible inside Iran.

But they were also having to refuel in countries along their route not imposing a ban, a move which the official said was doubling costs.