Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that the plane which was carrying Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to the Iranian capital at the weekend was blocked because no prior approval had been sought.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that the plane which was carrying Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to the Iranian capital at the weekend was blocked because no prior approval had been sought.

"The (Authority) denied permission to a private plane (Sunday) from crossing its airspace in a flight between Khartoum and Tehran international airports... for the lack of the needed regulatory approval," the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

This was the only reason the plane was turned back, the kingdom's civil aviation authorities said, countering suggestions the move was linked to international arrest warrants out for Bashir.

"No other reasons prohibited the plane from crossing the kingdom's airspace," the statement, carried by the official SPA news agency noted.

The aircraft carrying Bashir to attend the swearing-in of Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on Sunday had to turn back after being refused permission to cross Saudi airspace.

The statement added that no prior notice was given to the kingdom's air surveillance centre and the pilot only informed the kingdom that Bashir was on board after the plane was on its way back to Khartoum.