New Planes Join Iran’s Civil Air Fleet

According to Tasnim dispatches, the new aircraft, including eight Airbus A340’s and an Airbus A321, came into service last week.

Domestic airline, Mahan Air, has bought the planes.

The development comes against the backdrop of sanctions against Iran over the past 30 years, following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Many, however, have been imposed years later over Iran’s nuclear energy program, which the West suspects could be used for non-civilian purposes.

Meanwhile, Iran has always insisted on its right to enjoy nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and that nuclear weapons have no place in its defense doctrine and run counter to its tenets.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in talks to strike a final nuclear agreement that would allay concerns over Tehran’s nuclear case once and for all, and would also terminate the whole sanctions imposed by the EU, the US and the UN Security Council.

Back in April, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi had announced preparations for major investment in Iran’s civil aviation industry as soon as the sanctions are lifted under a comprehensive nuclear deal.

According to the minister, while Iran and the six powers are negotiating a long-awaited nuclear accord, Tehran has launched extensive talks with foreign companies to refurnish its air fleet and develop its old state-run airline, Homa, to the international levels. 

On April 2, Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) reached a framework nuclear agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final deal until the end of June.