Iranian planes are getting fuel - foreign ministry

* Iran officials give contradictory statements on jet fuel

* Foreign Ministry denies Iranian planes denied fuel

* FT reported BP blocked sales; BP has not denied report

By Robin Pomeroy

TEHRAN, July 6 (Reuters) - Iranian planes continue to refuel at airports around the world, an official said on Tuesday, a day after an Iranian news report that the country's aircraft had been denied fuel in Germany, Britain and a Gulf Arab state.

The Financial Times said oil major BP (BP.L) had stopped refuelling Iranian jets, a move which would add to a growing list of companies shunning trade with the Islamic state amid a U.S.-led drive to isolate Tehran over its nuclear programme.

Iran has been hit by a new wave of international sanctions over its nuclear enrichment activities which the West fears could lead it to make a bomb, something Tehran denies it wants.

The United States has also stepped up its push to isolate Tehran economically. On Thursday, President Barack Obama signed into law far-reaching sanctions that aim to squeeze the Islamic Republic's fuel imports and deepen its international isolation.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called reports that some countries were refusing fuel supplies to Iranian planes due to U.S. sanctions part of a "psychological war".

"This news is not right. No such limitation has been imposed," Mehmanparast told a news conference .

"The spread of inaccurate news is done in line with creating a negative atmosphere. It's a kind of psychological war against our people," he said.

His comments appeared to ignore the fact that first news of the ban came on Monday from a senior Iranian official. The secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union was quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency as saying Britain, Germany and the UAE has denied fuel to Iran Air and Mahan Airlines. [ID:nLDE66418N]

The conflicting statements combined with failure by companies involved to speak out clearly added to the confusion surrounding the situation.

The German Transport Ministry said there was no ban on refuelling Iranian flights and a British government source said London was not aware of any cut to supplies and that any such a decision would be up to private companies.

A source in the UAE familiar with the issue said a private company there had refused to refuel an Iranian plane, but the UAE had not imposed a ban.

BP declined to confirm the Financial Times report but said: "We fully comply with any international sanctions imposed in countries where we operate."

Samuel Ciszuk, a senior analyst at IHS Global Insight, said that if the report proved correct "it could suggest that BP is trying to be pro-active in managing political relations in the U.S. which are already under tremendous strain because of the Gulf (of Mexico) spill".

"The last thing they need now is having a U.S. congressman, for example, saying they are helping Iran."

Over the past weeks a number of countries and firms have cut back on imports of Iranian crude oil. Other companies have stopped providing Iran with refined petroleum. [ID:nLDE65R1O2]

In late June, France's Total (TOTF.PA) said it had stopped gasoline sales to Iran, becoming the latest oil company to do so. The U.S. law sanctions any company worldwide that exports gasoline or other refined petroleum products to Iran.

Despite being the world's fifth-largest oil producer, Iran lacks sufficient refining capacity and has to import up to 40 percent of its gasoline needs.

The UAE took steps last week to tighten its crucial role as a trading and financial lifeline for Iran. The UAE Central Bank asked financial institutions to freeze the accounts of 40 entities and an individual blacklisted by the United Nations for assisting Iran's nuclear or missile programmes.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has played down the potential economic impact of sanctions, calling a fourth round of U.N. sanctions as important as a "used handkerchief".

(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Dubai; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)