Iran receives planes ahead of sanctions
TEHRAN, Iran—Iran acquired five new commercial aircraft on Sunday, a day before the U.S. begins restoring sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.
The arrival of the ATR72-600 airplanes at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport represented perhaps the last benefits Iran will see under the nuclear deal after President Donald Trump withdrew from it in May. Economic woes are sparking sporadic, leaderless protests across the country.
The rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran remains heated, despite Trump tweeting last week that he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard on Sunday acknowledged conducting recent naval exercises near the crucial Strait of Hormuz after renewing threats to cut off the waterway to oil traders.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported the arrival of the five ATR72-600 airplanes, which are twin-engine turboprops used for short-distance regional flights. Their arrival means state carrier Iran Air has received 13 of the 20 it ordered from the French-Italian manufacturer in April 2017. The deal had a list value of $536 million, though buyers and manufacturers typically negotiate lower prices.
ATR, jointly owned by European consortium Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo, has been pushing U.S. officials to allow it to finish its delivery of aircraft to Iran. The U.S. Treasury must approve the sale of airplanes whose components are at least 10 percent American-made, like the AT72-600.
The Toulouse, France-based firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The nuclear deal lifted international sanctions in return for Iran limiting its nuclear program and allowing regular inspections. U.N. inspectors said Iran was complying with the deal, but Trump felt the agreement did not go far enough. He has called for a new accord that would include a radical transformation of Iran’s policies, including its military support for the Syrian government and regional militant groups, two issues not covered by the 2015 deal.
Iran “has treated its people very poorly, and that’s led to terror. They’re the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. That’s what America is trying to get Iran to stop doing. That’s the behavioral change that we’re looking for from the Iranian regime,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Metro TV in Jakarta.