Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.12
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran and Portugal have signed an aviation contract, which is the first time in 35 years that the Islamic Republic has signed an aviation deal with a EU member state.
Iran Civil Aviation Organization Director Alireza Jahangirian said that the two countries now are allowed to operate seven flights per week and an unlimited number of charter flights after making arrangements with each other's aviation organizations, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on November 12.
Iran Air and Euro Atlantic Airways are their respective aviation companies.
The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions on Iran's aviation industry due to the dispute over the country's nuclear program.
Currently, the U.S. sanctions include an embargo on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.
The EU's sanctions regime includes a single specific restriction on providing engineering and maintenance services for cargo aircraft owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by an Iranian.
In November 2013, Iran won limited relief from Western sanctions after agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear program for six months under an interim accord with the 5+1 group (the U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia, and Germany) which took effect in January.
In July 2014, the 5+1 group agreed to extend the period for four more months.
The agreement provided an opportunity for commercial airplane manufacturers to again venture into Iran's civil aviation market legally.
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