September 06, 2019
In an unexpected development, the US Treasury has issued a license allowing the Franco-Italian aircraft company ATR to send Iran Air any spare parts it needs for the ATR turbojets that were delivered to Iran before the Trump Administration re-imposed sanctions.
The US government has said nothing about issuing the license to ATR, but ATR told the industry website Air Transport World that it received the license back in April from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Iran Air ordered 20 ATR 72-600s for its fleet and received 13 before the re-imposed sanctions in August 2018 halted further deliveries.
The ATRs were the bulk of the few new-build Western aircraft to be delivered to Iran in the two-year window when US-led sanctions against the Tehran regime were lifted by the Obama Administration.
The US has made it clear it will take stringent measures against any Western companies supplying Iran with a wide range of goods and services without OFAC permission.
While OFAC did not explain the reason for the license, the US has been under pressure for years to allow aircraft spare parts to be sold to Iran. Whenever a plane crashes, the Islamic Republic routinely blames the United States for its embargo on parts sales, and the license takes that option away from the Islamic Republic when it comes to ATRs.
“In April 2019, ATR was granted a license for the support of the Iran Air fleet (13 aircraft) from the OFAC,” an ATR spokesman told ATW August 13. “This license authorizes ATR, in compliance with its terms, to export parts, components and tools, update software and provide technology necessary to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft. The license expires on the 30 April 2021.”
Five planes were delivered in the 24 hours before the sanctions were re-imposed last year. ATR initially hoped it would receive permission from OFAC to supply the remaining seven aircraft, but later accepted this would not happen.
The ATR 72-600 is a shorthaul aircraft that Iran Air uses mainly for domestic flights. It carries 72 passengers to a range of 1,500 kilometers (950 miles) and has a list price of $26 million.
