Five ATR Aircraft Arrive in Iran Ahead of US Sanctions

As the implementation of US sanctions begins, Iran Air announced that five new aircraft from the Italian-French company ATR will arrive in Iran on Sunday, August 5. According to the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, IRNA, the company stated on Saturday, August 4, that with the delivery of these aircraft, the total number of planes delivered to Iran since the JCPOA will reach 13. ATR was supposed to deliver 20 short-range aircraft to Iran. The company had previously announced that it would try to deliver a significant portion of the agreed aircraft to Iran Air before the return of sanctions. However, it is unclear when ATR will deliver the remaining seven aircraft to Iran. The first round of US sanctions against Iran will be implemented on Saturday, August 4, and until all unilateral US sanctions against the Islamic Republic are reinstated on November 4 of this year, the US is determined to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. The aircraft delivered to Iran Air can transport 70 people over a distance of 1528 kilometers. After signing the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, Tehran ordered 200 passenger aircraft, including 100 from Airbus, 80 from Boeing, and 20 from ATR. The sale of all these aircraft requires a license issued by the US government. Meanwhile, Boeing announced on Wednesday, June 6, that due to the return of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic, it does not intend to deliver any aircraft to Iran. Airbus has also stated that it is reviewing the details of US sanctions, but there is little chance that it will be able to deliver aircraft to Iran despite these sanctions. Officials of the Islamic Republic had hoped that the delivery of new aircraft would solve the problems of Iran's aging fleet. According to Farzaneh Sharafbafi, CEO of Iran Air, the average age of Iran's air fleet is 24 years, and 'the condition of the aviation industry in Iraq and Afghanistan is better than ours.'