Iran has received five more ATR turboprop airplanes only a day before the return of US sanctions that have already torpedoed the country’s plane purchases with other major providers.
The planes that had left France’s Toulouse earlier in the day landed in Tehran’s International Mehrabad Airport on Sunday morning after a short stop for refueling in the northwestern city of Urmia.
They brought to 13 the total number of ATRs so far delivered to Iran’s flag carrier Iran Air.
Last April, Iran Air sealed a deal with the Franco-Italian company to purchase a total of 20 planes at a total price tag of $400 million.
The agreement came after restrictions on Iran’s aviation industry were lifted following the implementation of the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Apart from the deal with ATR, Iran also signed agreements with global aviation giants Airbus and Boeing for the purchase of scores of planes in 2016.
Airbus has already delivered three planes to Iran but Boeing made no deliveries before speculations emerged over the past few months that US sanctions would obstruct the deals with Iran.
Last week, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he was “hopeful” that ATR would get permission from the US to deliver eight regional planes to Iran before August 6.
