Iran's civil aviation at crossroads

Baku, Azerbaijan, March 9

By Azer Ahmadbayli – Trend:

In the light of the recent deadly air crash of Aseman Airlines' flight EP3704 on Feb.18 in Iran's Central Province, a problem that is of a vital character for the Islamic Republic, becomes increasingly pressuring.

The plane’s black boxes have been found and the investigation is in progress to figure out the cause of the crash. However, though the results of the investigation have yet to be released, the fact itself highlights with renewed vigor the problem of security and safety of the Iranian civil aviation, whose main challenge is mostly outdated air fleet. In total, Iran requires 500 new aircraft in the next 10 years.

At least 1,303 individuals have lost their lives in 18 air crashes in Iran over the last 40 years.

Source: Mehr News Agency

Following the implementation of the nuclear deal in January 2016, Iran entered into contracts with Airbus, Boeing and ATR for the purchase of more than 200 aircraft.

So far, under those contracts, the country has received 11 aircraft (eight from ATR, three from Airbus).

Commercial aircraft, that have the US-made components making more than 10 percent of their cost, need to receive licenses from OFAC (US ‎Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) before being sold to Iran, within the frame of the nuclear agreement. The license has a time limit. For instance, ATR manufacturers have an OFAC license which is valid till the end of 2018, according to the company's representatives.

Meanwhile, Iran warned that its deals for purchasing Airbus planes might be called into question by President Trump's repudiation of the nuclear agreement.

"Considering Mr. Trump's stance on pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, we must make sure that the licenses will remain valid… regardless of any decision taken by the US," Iran’s deputy minister of roads and urban development, Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan, told ILNA.

"As long as uncertainties are not resolved, we will not provide down payments," he said.

In his turn, Airbus sales Director, John Leahy, told Reuters that financing is the main issue facing Iran's deal with the company, indicating that Airbus would be cautious about building jets for Iran without receiving deposit payments.

It looks the sides got into a trap – Iran doesn’t want to provide payments unless uncertainty with licenses is resolved, whereas Airbus is waiting for deposit money to proceed to building next aircraft for Iran.

Russia also needs OFAC permit to deliver aircraft to Iran, as US components are used in the Sukhoi SuperJet-100.

However, Secretary of the Association of Iranian airlines Maqsood Asadi Samani said in February that the latest modifications made to SSJ100 allow sale of the aircraft to Iran without the necessity of obtaining OFAC license, since the US-made components now compile less than 10 percent.

Deliveries of Russian SSJ-100 airliners to the Islamic Republic have been discussed between Moscow and Tehran, rt.com reported March 7.

“We talked about the possibility of Sukhoi SuperJet-100 purchases by our Iranian partners and outlined a plan of how this can be put into practice,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.

Meanwhile, the recent political statements made by the opposing sides give very little hope for optimism.

Earlier this week, US Vice President Mike Pence warned again that unless the Iran nuclear deal is fixed in the “coming months,” the United States would withdraw from it. Pence said that President Trump waived the sanctions to give its allies and the U.S. Congress time to improve the nuclear deal, but warned that “this is their last chance.”

The same day French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Tehran to discuss the fate of Iran's nuclear deal with top Iranian officials.

At the meetings with Le Drian, Iranian officials have criticized EU’s position to dance to the tune of the US, pandering to President Trump’s groundless attacks on the fully legal nuclear agreement. They have also noted that EU’s verbal support of the nuclear agreement is not enough and that the Islamic Republic hasn’t seen major economic benefits after signing JCPOA especially in the banking sector and Iran may be forced to abandon the agreement.

In such a heated atmosphere, Iran is at crossroads deciding how to solve an issue of the state importance related to the security of its citizens – renewal of the country’s ageing air fleet.