Despite the sanctions, Iran bought four used Airbus planes

Despite the existing sanctions, Iran has received four used passenger aircraft to replace machines in its aging fleet. On Friday, Iran’s aviation authority confirmed the arrival of four planes in Iran.

“The four Airbus 340s have arrived in the country and will soon be used in civil aviation,” a spokesman for the authorities told news portal Khabar Online on Friday. He did not mention how Iran managed to obtain the four planes despite the sanctions.

According to consistent media reports, these are the planes that were retired by Turkish Airlines in 2019 and then parked by the new owner company at Johannesburg Airport in South Africa. Turkish Airlines did not initially comment.

A spokesman for Iran’s aviation authority admitted that buying new passenger planes has become very difficult for Iran because of the sanctions. Therefore, the country should lead “with lights” in this regard. The term is used in Persian for actions that are done incorrectly.

Old aircraft – missing parts

Iran has had problems with passenger planes for years. Unofficially, most aircraft are said to still be Boeings from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The CAA also has problems with spare parts, because those for Boeing planes in particular are no longer provided by the USA. According to reports, nearly 60 percent of the more than 330 aircraft in the country have already been grounded.

After the Vienna nuclear deal, the then-moderate government of President Hassan Rouhani struck a billion-dollar deal in Paris in 2016 between Iran’s state airline and Airbus. For this purpose, 100 Airbus aircraft must be delivered to Tehran. At that time, there was another deal with the Franco-Italian company ATR. There was also talk of a deal with Boeing to at least deliver parts.

But because of the renewed nuclear dispute with the United States, Iran got only 16 machines from the two manufacturers. Since then, according to persistent rumors, Tehran has been trying to acquire used Airbus planes through foreign shell companies. Deals not confirmed. (sda/dpa)

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