Iran wants to buy 90 planes a year to renovate fleet

Iran plans on buying 80 to 90 Airbus and Boeing passenger planes per year until 300 are in place to replace its ageing fleet, media reported Sunday quoting a civil aviation official.

Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO) deputy chief Mohammad Khodakarami said the July 14 nuclear deal struck with Western powers lifts a ban preventing Iran from purchasing new planes and spare parts.

"We must add 80 to 90 planes to our fleet each year in order to have 300 new and operational ones," Khodakarami was quoted as saying.

He said the CAO would renovate the national fleet by purchasing an equal number of Airbus and Boeing planes at an estimated cost of $20 billion (18.2 billion euros).

An embargo dating from 1995 prevents Western manufacturers from selling equipment and spare parts to Iranian companies.

The restrictions, which have been blamed for crippling the industry, were partially lifted by an interim agreement on Iran's nuclear programme that came into force in January 2014.