Iranian officials say the country’s flagship airline will finalize a deal to purchase 114 jets from Airbus when President Hassan Rouhani visits France on Wednesday.
Iranian media quoted Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi saying Iran Air and Airbus will sign the agreement. Akhoundi has not given any specific terms, including the price of the planes.
The cost will run billions of dollars, but Iran badly needs the planes to upgrade its fleet of passenger jets, which were subject to years of sanctions and suffered from a lack of maintenance. The international agreement on the country’s nuclear program that went into effect this month removed those barriers.
Rouhani was due to visit France in November, but the trip was postponed after the terror attacks in Paris. He said then he expected Iran to sign the Airbus deal during his visit.
Rouhani will be the first Iranian president to visit France in 17 years.
