Iran Air Receives Two Airbus A330-200s Despite Sanctions
State carrier Iran Air took delivery of two second-hand Airbus A330-200s on April 17, joining two other aircraft of the type in its fleet.
The planes were registered EP-IJC and EP-IJD and arrived sporting only a white livery, according to a video posted on social media. The two A330s are expected to undergo modifications to meet Iran Air’s standards.
Manufactured in 2012, the two widebodies previously flew with Hong Kong Airlines as B-LNK and B-LNL, both configured with 18 business class seats and 246 economy seats.
Like the A330-200 EP-IJA and EP-IJB, both are equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines.
The aircraft flew the Haikou-Muscat-Tehran route, as shown by ADS-B records.
There is still no information on whether the aircraft were acquired by shell companies and transferred to Iran or whether the United States authorized them.
Two new A330s were delivered in 2017
Iran Air received its first two A330-200s in March 2017, and they came from an order canceled by the airline Avianca Brasil (which went bankrupt in 2019), where they would receive the registrations PR-OCL and PR-OCF (EP-IJB).
The aircraft were delivered in 2014 and have been stored since mid-2014 at the Spanish airport of Teruel.
The two widebodies were part of the agreement between Iran Air and Airbus for the purchase of 118 aircraft from the European consortium, which also involved A320ceo, A320neo, A330-300, A330-900neo, A350-1000 and A380 aircraft.
The mega-purchase was possible at the time due to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran, the United States, China and Europe to allow monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the relaxation of sanctions.
During Donald Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA and sanctions against Iran were reimposed, affecting aircraft purchases made with Airbus, ATR, Bombardier and Boeing.
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