Baku, Azerbaijan, June 23
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran's Deputy Road Minister for Aviation Affairs, Ali Mohammad Nourian, said spare parts for the national aviation fleet are being imported gradually, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on June 23.
Iranian grounded airplanes at around 100, saying half of the planes are irreparable, Iran's IRNA news agency reported.
Age and depreciation were the main reasons for grounding the planes, he added. The grounded planes had 150-200 seat capacity, he noted.
If international sanctions are lifted, the national aviation industry will burgeon in all production, maintenance, and international affairs, he said.
On April 14, Jahangirian complained about a delay by foreign companies to sell civilian plane spare parts to Iran.
Under the Geneva nuclear agreement, which eases sanctions against Iran, Tehran is allowed to purchase plane parts.
In an interview with the ISNA news agency, Jahangirian said in spite of the fact that the agreement was signed in November last year, Boeing and General Electric corporations did not receive a license to export plane parts to Iran.
from the U.S. Treasury Department until April 4.
Jahangirian said according to the Chicago Convention the U.S. is obliged to ensure safe flights for civilian planes but the U.S. failed to meet international obligations by preventing Iran to gain access to technical services.
He added that the license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department covers only some of Iran's air fleet.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany sealed the Geneva deal on Nov. 24 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West's decade-old dispute with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program.
Under the deal, the six countries agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief, including plane spare parts, in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.
On May 17, Alireza Jahangirian, the head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization, put the number of