Plane Contracts Complex, Confidential: Iranian Official

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday, Sharafbafi dismissed speculation about details of Iran’s contracts with the Western plane makers, giving an assurance that Iran Air would make the best and most logical decisions.

The contracts to purchase passenger planes are both comprehensive and strictly confidential, she noted, saying that aircraft manufacturers and the bargaining parties insist that details of the contracts should not be released.

Since the coming into force of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran has received a total of nine new planes, including three Airbus passenger planes and 6 ATR turboprops.

Iran Air and the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR spent months negotiating an order for 20 ATR 72-600 aircraft worth $576 million at list prices, with options for another 20.

Iran is gradually receiving the passenger planes purchased from Airbus, ATR , and Boeing, following the implementation of the JCPOA, the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

During a January 2016 visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran signed a major contract with Airbus worth about $27 billion to buy 118 planes.

Later in June 2016, Iran sealed another deal worth around $25 billion with the US aerospace heavyweight, Boeing, for the purchase of 100 passenger planes.

In December 2016, the deal with Boeing was finalized, allowing Iran to buy 80 planes within 10 years.