Iran to acquire 100 Airbus aircraft but no A380s in revised deal

Iran has finalised a deal with Airbus to acquire 100 jets but it does not include A380s, an official has said.

Deputy roads and urban development minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan told Reuters that the agreement was split between narrow-body and wide-body aircraft and will be signed in the coming days.

“We have finalised negotiations with Airbus and any day we will be able to sign the deal in Tehran. We are expecting some final clearances and expect to sign today or tomorrow,” he was quoted as saying.

Under the agreement, Airbus will supply medium-haul A320s and A321s and long-haul A330s and A350s but A380 superjumbos that were part of an initial draft deal for 118 aircraft signed in January have been cut.

Read: Iran to buy 114 Airbus aircraft following sanctions removal

Yesterday, Iran Air’s chairman and managing director Farhad Parvaresh was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying the value of the contract would drop from $25bn to no more than $10bn following the removal of the A380s.

Iran also finalised a deal for 80 jets with US rival Boeing last week and has reached leasing deals for 77 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, according to the official.

Read: Iran Air to buy 80 planes from Boeing

Both agreements aim to transform the ageing fleet of national carrier Iran Air, which has been unable to update of its roster for years due to sanctions against the country.

Reuters said the first delivery of an Airbus A321 could take place before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has expressed dissatisfaction with the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

The US Treasury has granted export licences to allow the Airbus and Boeing deals to go ahead.

Kashan indicated he was not concerned the deal could be stalled or cancelled but said the country could not ignore the possibility.

“The fact is that Mr Trump may impose certain new sanctions, but we would consider that to be a violation of the JCPOA (nuclear accord), which explicitly provides for the possibility for the purchase of aircraft and their sale by manufacturers,” he said.