Iran Air has taken delivery of an A321 in a handover ceremony in Toulouse with Farhad Parvaresh, Iran Air Chairman and CEO, and Fabrice Brégier, President, Airbus Commercial Aircraft and Chief Operating Officer Airbus, in the presence of Gael Meheust, SVP Sales and Marketing CFM International, and Tom Enders, Airbus CEO. It is the first new aircraft to be delivered since nuclear-related sanctions against Iran were lifted in July 2015.

The delivery is the first from a firm order placed by Iran Air in December 2016 for 100 Airbus aircraft (46 single aisle and 54 wide-body jets) to renew and expand its fleet. 

Iran is forecast to require some 400 to 500 new aircraft to modernise as well as to grow its existing passenger fleet to catch up with years of pent up demand on domestic as well as international routes.

Airbus underlines that the delivery complies with all relevant international laws. The company says it coordinated closely with regulators in the E.U., U.S. and elsewhere to ensure understanding and full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPA) which is itended to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful. Airbus declares that it will continue to act in full compliance with the conditions of the U.S. government Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licences.