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No apparent possibility for Iran to buy Sukhoi aircraft

Iran Materials 3 January 2019 16:15 (UTC +04:00)
Iran Air Tours, an Iranian airline, has recently signed an MOU to purchase 20 Sukhoi aircraft and another Iranian airline has drafted a lease agreement for three aircraft from the Russian company.
No apparent possibility for Iran to buy Sukhoi aircraft

Tehran, Iran, Jan. 3

Trend:

Iran Air Tours, an Iranian airline, has recently signed an MOU to purchase 20 Sukhoi aircraft and another Iranian airline has drafted a lease agreement for three aircraft from the Russian company.

However, despite the promise of the Russian company to replace the US-made parts with the Russian ones, it seems due to the failure to get a license from OFAC the contracts have been canceled.

“Negotiations were held between Sukhoi Company and some Iranian airlines. They are ready to sign a memorandum of understanding and prepare to use the Sukhoi aircraft in Iran, either rent or purchase them,” Secretary of Iran's Aviation Companies Association Maghsoud Asadi Samani told Trend referring to the possibility of buying Sukhoi Superjet 100 from Russia.

Referring to the US sanctions on Iran’s aviation, he says the only problem now is that the aircraft parts that Sukhoi produces is more than 10 percent American, so the licenses of the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are required for sale of the aircraft to Iran.

The Superjet 100 underwent a significant rebranding over the summer of 2018. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) announced a new version of the aircraft that drops the “Sukhoi” label and adds an “R”: the SSJ100R.

The SSJ100R’s sole major distinction from its predecessor is its reduction of foreign components by 10-15 percent, according to SCAC CEO Alexander Roubstov. Notably, SCAC is planning to replace the SaM146 engine with the fully Russian-made Aviadvigatel PD-14.

“There is apparently no possibility of obtaining a license for the purchase or rental of the Sukhoi aircraft in the context of US sanctions,” noted Maghsoud Asadi Samani.

He went on to say that Sukhoi is trying to reduce its American parts below 10 percent to not require a license from OFAC.

“This issue was raised by Sukhoi with Iranian companies, and Iranian companies announced that if Sukhoi could bring its American parts below 10 percent to sell aircraft to Iran without authorization of OFAC, they would buy the aircraft and sign a contract,” he noted.

Masoud Asadi Samani said the US Treasury Department has not issued a license for Iran to buy the Sukhoi aircraft from Russia yet.

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