Second post-sanctions Airbus aircraft joins Iran fleet

Iran received its second new Airbus plane Saturday under an order that Tehran placed last year after a partial lifting of international sanctions. The A330-200 landed in Tehran’s Mehrabad airport to join national carrier Iran Air’s fleet for long-haul flights, state news agency Irna reported. Iran Air received its first Airbus, a A321 used for domestic flights, on January 12, the National reports.

It completed a deal for 100 Airbus planes with a list price of around US$20 billion on December 22, after approval from Washington as some parts are manufactured in the United States. The purchase, along with a historic deal with US manufacturer Boeing, followed a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers lifted some sanctions in 2016, in return for limits on Tehran’s atomic programme.

Boeing has said the contract for 80 planes, also finalised in December – Iran’s first with a US aviation firm since 1979 – was worth $16.6bn. Iran projects a demand for between 400 and 500 new commercial airliners over the next decade.