Tehran, Iran, June 3
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
An Iranian lawmaker has called on the government to avoid buying Sukhoi civil aircraft as the Russian-made planes continue to take toll on its passengers, killing tens time by time.
In a rare warning on June 3, Seyed Ahsan Alavi said, “Purchasing or not purchasing planes from Russia should not overshadow Iran-Russia’s good relations as the lives of people are more important than any kind of relationship," Tasnim news agency reported.
The remarks came after a Russian aircraft maker announced recently that it was exploring plans to make a modified version of its Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional airliner so Iranian airlines can buy the jet after US President Donald Trump said it was walking away from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world
powers.
On May 8, Trump administration withdrew from the deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
The fresh US sanctions effectively prevent Boeing and Airbus from further pursuing ongoing efforts to sell commercial aircraft to the Islamic republic because planes from both companies contain many US-made parts.
“If one day we are forced to buy Russian plane, we should study all aspects,” the Iranian lawmaker said.
He added that the quality of Airbus and Boeing planes is incomparable with the quality of Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft.
“Russian planes are not trustworthy and experience has proved this,” Alavi concluded.
Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.
The US sanctions have a 180-day period during which buyers should “wind down” purchases.