Iran receives more airplanes ahead of renewed US sanctions

Iran acquired five new commercial aircraft on Sunday, a day before the US begins restoring sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.

The arrival of the ATR72-600 airplanes at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport represented perhaps the last benefits Iran will see under the nuclear deal after President Donald Trump withdrew from it in May.

Economic woes are sparking sporadic, leaderless protests across the country. The rhetoric between the US and Iran remains heated, despite Trump tweeting last week that he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. 

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Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard on Sunday acknowledged conducting recent naval exercises near the crucial Strait of Hormuz after renewing threats to cut off the waterway to oil traders.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported the arrival of the five ATR72-600 airplanes, which are twin-engine turboprops used for short-distance regional flights. 

Their arrival means state carrier Iran Air has received 13 of the 20 it ordered from the French-Italian manufacturer in April 2017. The deal had a list value of USD 536 million, though buyers and manufacturers typically negotiate lower prices.

ATR, jointly owned by European consortium Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo, has been pushing US officials to allow it to finish its delivery of aircraft to Iran. The Toulouse, France-based firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The nuclear deal lifted international sanctions in return for Iran limiting its nuclear program and allowing regular inspections. UN inspectors said Iran was complying with the deal, but Trump felt the agreement did not go far enough. He has called for a new accord that would include a radical transformation of Iran’s policies, including its military support for the Syrian government and regional militant groups, two issues not covered by the 2015 deal.

Iran had hoped the lifting of sanctions would allow it to replace its aging commercial airline fleet, but the US withdrawal has halted billion-dollar deals struck with Airbus and Boeing.

US sanctions targeting Iranian trade in automobiles, gold and other key metals will be re-imposed on Monday, while sanctions targeting the country’s energy and banking sector will resume November 4. 

The sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry could cut off a crucial source of hard currency. The US has been pushing its allies to halt their import of Iranian oil ahead of the November deadline. Among the top importers of Iranian oil are China, India, Turkey and South Korea.

Rouhani has suggested Iran might block the Strait of Hormuz in response to a shutdown of its oil exports. The strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is crucial to global energy supplies as about a third of all oil traded at sea passes through it.

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Iran’s navy and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard routinely conduct seaborne exercises in the Gulf and the strait. US officials last week said Iran carried out a similar exercise, though Tehran did not immediately acknowledge it.

Today, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Guard spokesman Gen. Ramezan Sharif confirming that its forces held a military drill in the Persian Gulf and the strait. He said the exercise, which he described as an annual drill, was aimed at maintaining the security of the international waterway. He did not elaborate.