Iran transport minister: Agreement to buy 114 Airbus planes

Iran has reached a deal with the European consortium Airbus to buy 114 passenger planes once international economic sanctions are lifted as part of a nuclear deal, Iran's transport minister said Saturday. Abbas Akhondi was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that the first shipment of planes will arrive in Iran before March 20 to upgrade Iran's aging fleet. Iran has said it is looking to buy 400 passenger planes over the next decade. "An agreement was reached with Airbus to buy 114 planes to gradually enter carrier Iran Air fleet upon the lifting of sanctions," IRNA quoted Akhondi as saying. He said an unspecified number of planes will arrive before Nowruz, Iran's new year, which falls on March 21. Airbus did not confirm a formal agreement with Tehran. The company released a statement pointing out that the sanctions have yet to be lifted and the nuclear agreement has yet to be implemented. "Once it is, we will evaluate the commercial implications in strict compliance with any international accord," the statement said. <br/>