diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/031 b/tests/qemu-iotests/031
index 1d920ea87a..2a77ba8cbb 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/031
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/031
@@ -56,22 +56,22 @@ for IMGOPTS in "compat=0.10" "compat=1.1"; do
     echo === Create image with unknown header extension ===
     echo
     _make_test_img 64M
-    ./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" add-header-ext 0x12345678 "This is a test header extension"
-    ./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+    $PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" add-header-ext 0x12345678 "This is a test header extension"
+    $PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
     _check_test_img
 
     echo
     echo === Rewrite header with no backing file ===
     echo
     $QEMU_IMG rebase -u -b "" "$TEST_IMG"
-    ./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+    $PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
     _check_test_img
 
     echo
     echo === Add a backing file and format ===
     echo
     $QEMU_IMG rebase -u -b "/some/backing/file/path" -F host_device "$TEST_IMG"
-    ./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+    $PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 done
 
 # success, all done
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/036 b/tests/qemu-iotests/036
index 03b6aa9de7..a77365347d 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/036
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/036
@@ -53,15 +53,15 @@ IMGOPTS="compat=1.1"
 echo === Create image with unknown autoclear feature bit ===
 echo
 _make_test_img 64M
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-feature-bit autoclear 63
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-feature-bit autoclear 63
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 
 echo
 echo === Repair image ===
 echo
 _check_test_img -r all
 
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 
 # success, all done
 echo "*** done"
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/039 b/tests/qemu-iotests/039
index 27fe4bdacc..84c9167660 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/039
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/039
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ _make_test_img $size
 $QEMU_IO -c "write -P 0x5a 0 512" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 
 # The dirty bit must not be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 _check_test_img
 
 echo
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ _make_test_img $size
 _no_dump_exec $QEMU_IO -c "write -P 0x5a 0 512" -c "abort" "$TEST_IMG" 2>&1 | _filter_qemu_io
 
 # The dirty bit must be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 _check_test_img
 
 echo
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ echo "== Read-only access must still work =="
 $QEMU_IO -r -c "read -P 0x5a 0 512" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 
 # The dirty bit must be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 echo
 echo "== Repairing the image file must succeed =="
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ echo "== Repairing the image file must succeed =="
 _check_test_img -r all
 
 # The dirty bit must not be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 echo
 echo "== Data should still be accessible after repair =="
@@ -108,12 +108,12 @@ _make_test_img $size
 _no_dump_exec $QEMU_IO -c "write -P 0x5a 0 512" -c "abort" "$TEST_IMG" 2>&1 | _filter_qemu_io
 
 # The dirty bit must be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 $QEMU_IO -c "write 0 512" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 
 # The dirty bit must not be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 echo
 echo "== Creating an image file with lazy_refcounts=off =="
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ _make_test_img $size
 _no_dump_exec $QEMU_IO -c "write -P 0x5a 0 512" -c "abort" "$TEST_IMG" 2>&1 | _filter_qemu_io
 
 # The dirty bit must not be set since lazy_refcounts=off
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 _check_test_img
 
 echo
@@ -140,8 +140,8 @@ $QEMU_IO -c "write 0 512" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 $QEMU_IMG commit "$TEST_IMG"
 
 # The dirty bit must not be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG".base dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG".base dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 _check_test_img
 TEST_IMG="$TEST_IMG".base _check_test_img
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/054 b/tests/qemu-iotests/054
index c8b7082b4e..bd94153d66 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/054
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/054
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ _make_test_img $((1024*1024))T
 echo
 echo "creating too large image (1 EB) using qcow2.py"
 _make_test_img 4G
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-header size $((1024 ** 6))
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-header size $((1024 ** 6))
 _check_test_img
 
 # success, all done
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/060 b/tests/qemu-iotests/060
index f0116aab1d..3cffc12fec 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/060
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/060
@@ -68,13 +68,13 @@ poke_file "$TEST_IMG" "$l1_offset" "\x80\x00\x00\x00\x00\x03\x00\x00"
 _check_test_img
 
 # The corrupt bit should not be set anyway
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 # Try to write something, thereby forcing the corrupt bit to be set
 $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RW" -c "write -P 0x2a 0 512" | _filter_qemu_io
 
 # The corrupt bit must now be set
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 # Try to open the image R/W (which should fail)
 $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RW" -c "read 0 512" 2>&1 | _filter_qemu_io \
@@ -99,19 +99,19 @@ poke_file "$TEST_IMG" "$(($rb_offset+8))" "\x00\x01"
 # Redirect new data cluster onto refcount block
 poke_file "$TEST_IMG" "$l2_offset" "\x80\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x00"
 _check_test_img
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RW" -c "write -P 0x2a 0 512" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 # Try to fix it
 _check_test_img -r all
 
 # The corrupt bit should be cleared
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 # Look if it's really really fixed
 $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RW" -c "write -P 0x2a 0 512" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 echo
 echo "=== Testing cluster data reference into inactive L2 table ==="
@@ -124,13 +124,13 @@ $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RW" -c "write -P 2 0 512" | _filter_qemu_io
 poke_file "$TEST_IMG" "$l2_offset_after_snapshot" \
                       "\x80\x00\x00\x00\x00\x04\x00\x00"
 _check_test_img
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RW" -c "write -P 3 0 512" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 _check_test_img -r all
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RW" -c "write -P 4 0 512" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header | grep incompatible_features
 
 # Check data
 $QEMU_IO -c "$OPEN_RO" -c "read -P 4 0 512" | _filter_qemu_io
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/061 b/tests/qemu-iotests/061
index d3a6b388b5..ab98def6d4 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/061
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/061
@@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ echo "=== Testing version downgrade with zero expansion ==="
 echo
 IMGOPTS="compat=1.1,lazy_refcounts=on" _make_test_img 64M
 $QEMU_IO -c "write -z 0 128k" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IMG amend -o "compat=0.10" "$TEST_IMG"
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IO -c "read -P 0 0 128k" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 _check_test_img
 
@@ -59,9 +59,9 @@ echo "=== Testing dirty version downgrade ==="
 echo
 IMGOPTS="compat=1.1,lazy_refcounts=on" _make_test_img 64M
 $QEMU_IO -c "write -P 0x2a 0 128k" -c flush -c abort "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IMG amend -o "compat=0.10" "$TEST_IMG"
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IO -c "read -P 0x2a 0 128k" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 _check_test_img
 
@@ -69,11 +69,11 @@ echo
 echo "=== Testing version downgrade with unknown compat/autoclear flags ==="
 echo
 IMGOPTS="compat=1.1" _make_test_img 64M
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-feature-bit compatible 42
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-feature-bit autoclear 42
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-feature-bit compatible 42
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" set-feature-bit autoclear 42
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IMG amend -o "compat=0.10" "$TEST_IMG"
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 _check_test_img
 
 echo
@@ -81,9 +81,9 @@ echo "=== Testing version upgrade and resize ==="
 echo
 IMGOPTS="compat=0.10" _make_test_img 64M
 $QEMU_IO -c "write -P 0x2a 42M 64k" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IMG amend -o "compat=1.1,lazy_refcounts=on,size=128M" "$TEST_IMG"
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IO -c "read -P 0x2a 42M 64k" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 _check_test_img
 
@@ -92,9 +92,9 @@ echo "=== Testing dirty lazy_refcounts=off ==="
 echo
 IMGOPTS="compat=1.1,lazy_refcounts=on" _make_test_img 64M
 $QEMU_IO -c "write -P 0x2a 0 128k" -c flush -c abort "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IMG amend -o "lazy_refcounts=off" "$TEST_IMG"
-./qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
+$PYTHON qcow2.py "$TEST_IMG" dump-header
 $QEMU_IO -c "read -P 0x2a 0 128k" "$TEST_IMG" | _filter_qemu_io
 _check_test_img
 
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/083 b/tests/qemu-iotests/083
index f764534782..b7ba8608e4 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/083
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/083
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ EOF
 		nbd_url="nbd:127.0.0.1:$port:exportname=foo"
 	fi
 
-	./nbd-fault-injector.py $extra_args "127.0.0.1:$port" "$TEST_DIR/nbd-fault-injector.conf" 2>&1 >/dev/null &
+	$PYTHON nbd-fault-injector.py $extra_args "127.0.0.1:$port" "$TEST_DIR/nbd-fault-injector.conf" 2>&1 >/dev/null &
 	wait_for_tcp_port "127.0.0.1:$port"
 	$QEMU_IO -c "read 0 512" "$nbd_url" 2>&1 | _filter_qemu_io | filter_nbd
 
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/check b/tests/qemu-iotests/check
index 992b91e14a..8ca40116d7 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/check
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/check
@@ -288,10 +288,16 @@ do
 
         start=`_wallclock`
         $timestamp && echo -n "        ["`date "+%T"`"]"
+
+        if [ "$(head -n 1 "$source_iotests/$seq")" == "#!/usr/bin/env python" ]; then
+            run_command="$PYTHON $seq"
+        else
+            run_command="./$seq"
+        fi
         export OUTPUT_DIR=$PWD
         (cd "$source_iotests";
         MALLOC_PERTURB_=${MALLOC_PERTURB_:-$(($RANDOM % 255 + 1))} \
-                ./$seq >$tmp.out 2>&1)
+                $run_command >$tmp.out 2>&1)
         sts=$?
         $timestamp && _timestamp
         stop=`_wallclock`