Sukhoi circles as Iran needs 500 planes

The Sukhoi passenger SSJ-100 plane prepares to take off. The Russian planemaker has been circling Iran. (Shutterstock)

• Sanctions mean Boeing and Airbus cannot sell planes to Tehran
• Sukhoi reported to reduce number of US parts to win order

DUBAI: Iran needs some 500 planes and would likely back buying the Sukhoi Superjet 100 if Russia is willing to sell them to its airlines, Iranian news agencies reported the country’s top civil aviation official as saying on Wednesday.
Iran needs to upgrade its aging passenger fleet and is seeking to avert US sanctions on Tehran.
The US Treasury has revoked licenses for Boeing and Airbus to sell passenger jets to Iran after President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in May and reimposed sanctions.
Most modern commercial planes have more than 10 percent in US parts, the threshold for needing US Treasury approval.
But Russian officials have been reported as saying Sukhoi is working on reducing the number of US parts in the hopes of winning an Iranian order for up to 100 aircraft.
“If the Iranian airlines want to use this aircraft (Superjet 100 ) and the seller is willing to sell it to Iran, the Civil Aviation Organization is ready to issue its final comment on this aircraft,” the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Ali Abedzadeh, head of the Civil Aviation Organization, as saying.
“But this aircraft has adhered to world standards and is flying currently, therefore there is no reason for us to reject it,” Abedzadeh told Fars.
Flag-carrier IranAir had ordered 200 passenger aircraft — 100 from Airbus, 80 from Boeing and 20 from Franco-Italian turboprop maker ATR before US licenses were revoked.
“The airlines have proposals for plane purchases and we are trying to devise regulations that will ease their aircraft imports. Considering Iran’s very large market, we need 500 planes now,” Abedzadeh was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.