IranAir receives second jet under sanctions deal

[PARIS] IranAir has taken delivery of its second Western jet under a nuclear sanctions deal with major powers: an Airbus A330 long-haul aircraft, the European planemaker said on Friday.

The aircraft is expected to be used mainly on European routes and on flights to Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.

It joins a medium-haul A321 delivered earlier this year.

Delivery was held up for several weeks by last-minute talks over its Rolls-Royce engines and spare parts, but comes in time for the Iranian new year later in March.

IranAir has ordered 100 jets from Airbus and 80 from Boeing under the sanctions deal.

The 238-seat aircraft delivered on Friday was originally built for Latin American airline Avianca but was bought back by Airbus after that airline negotiated a reduction in its orders.

Iran is expected to take delivery of a second A330 in coming weeks.

REUTERS