Tehran, Iran, May 24
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Deputy Director of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization Mohammad Khodakarami said that the US recent claim that the country would prevent newly-bought Iranian airbuses from flying contradicts the international regulations.
Iran received the aircraft second-hand from an Iraqi company last week. But the US said the transaction was conducted despite current sanctions on Iran. The US Treasury then blacklisted the Iraqi company.
According to Article 4 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, the member states have agreed that they would not use any country's aviation for objectives that are at odds with the convention, the Iranian official said, Fars news agency reported May 24.
The US is also included in the convention.
The Treasury said Al-Naser Airlines, based in Iraq, was used as a "cutout" to procure eight Airbus A340 aircraft and one A320 for transferring early this month to Iran's Mahan Air, which was placed under sanctions in 2011 for rendering transport services to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, or IRGC-QF, and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, a report by the AFP said earlier this week.
Khodakarami defended Iran's purchase of the aircraft as a move along the right for the countries to enjoy equality in practicing their sovereignty and independence.
The new sanctions forbid US companies and individuals from doing business with the blacklisted entities and individuals, and block their assets and interests in US jurisdictions.
Iran's aviation sector has faced difficulties with obtaining aircraft and parts since an embargo dating from 1995 that prevented Western manufacturers from selling equipment and spare parts to Iranian companies.
Those restrictions were partially lifted by an interim agreement on Iran's nuclear program that came into force in January 2014.
This allowed the sales of spare parts, though direct sales of planes remained banned.
