TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Transportation Exhibition, Abdolhay said that all Iran Air flights to Europe have been completely suspended. He explained that the scope of sanctions is not limited to Iran Air itself, noting that even airlines operating in neighboring countries are not permitted to carry Iranian passengers from Iran to European destinations.

“This issue is being pursued through legal channels, but resolving it requires intensive diplomatic efforts,” he said.

The acting head of Iran Air emphasized that although the airline owns 20 aircraft, the majority of flights are currently being operated with only eight aircraft, as two newly purchased planes are under detention.

He also disclosed that Iran Air owes around $15 million to airports in Istanbul, Najaf, Dubai, Jeddah, and Medina. According to him, operational problems related to flights to Istanbul have not yet been resolved, though negotiations are underway and talks are expected to continue over the coming week to resume these flights.

Abdolhay further noted that the airline’s financial difficulties have accumulated over years, with historical debts reaching approximately 43 trillion tomans. He attributed this situation to an imbalance between revenues and costs over the past 11 years.

He stressed that these challenges have severely affected Iran Air’s ability to maintain regular international operations and highlighted the urgent need for financial restructuring and diplomatic solutions to address the airline’s ongoing constraints.

Abdollahy, commenting on the airline’s legal action in international courts to regain its flight routes, said that the resumption of flights to the European Union requires intensive diplomacy and a different bureaucratic process, which is being pursued through the efforts of the company’s legal department in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said, on the second day of the 9th International Transportation and Logistics Exhibition, in response to IRNA, that prior to the suspension of European flights, sanctions against Iran’s aviation industry and Iran Air were already in place in areas such as aircraft parts, flight operations, insurance, leasing, and fuel.

He explained that, for example, fuel restrictions forced the airline to use aircraft such as the Airbus A330, capable of flying the entire outbound and return route without refueling, or alternatively to carry fewer passengers.

Abdolhay noted that as a result, the number of flights gradually declined until, eventually, flights to the European Union were suspended for political reasons. He added that even airlines operating in neighboring countries that intended to transport Iranian passengers to Europe were not permitted to do so.

Stressing that these challenges will not be resolved all at once or quickly, he said that Iran Air’s legal department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have held extensive communications with relevant authorities and made significant efforts. However, he emphasized that resuming EU flights requires heavy diplomatic engagement and a different bureaucratic approach within the European Union—a process that is currently underway and will be pursued further.

Speaking about airplane ticket prices, he said: “I believe the real price of tickets is what it is now, and if even these rates are not observed, we will not have even the same number of aircraft that we currently have in the coming years.”

He emphasized: “Today we are facing the difficult conditions of sanctions, to the extent that we are not even given a single aircraft screw. In other words, if an aircraft encounters a problem in any country, no assistance is provided to us.”

The CEO of Homa then raised this question: when airlines incur their costs in dollars but earn their revenue in rials, why should their required foreign currency be transferred to the second exchange hall?

Abdolhayi stated: “I believe that even if we make costs realistic, the price of airplane tickets is still low.”

He said: “I believe the country needs at least 1,000 aircraft—500 to meet our domestic needs and the rest to become a regional hub.”

The CEO of the Islamic Republic of Iran Airline also said regarding ATR aircraft: “Thirteen of these aircraft entered the country. We could have flown them to cities along the Persian Gulf or even operated them on routes within the Persian Gulf region, but in practice they ended up serving all regions of the country.”

He added: “This issue gradually caused costs to be imposed on these aircraft, and now each of these aircraft has incurred costs of between three and four million dollars.”

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“These capabilities have enabled us to detect and monitor any enemy stealth aircraft miles away from the borders,” Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard said.

Addressing worshippers in Tehran, the commander of the Army Air Defense Force said the country is self-sufficient in the production of all kinds of systems with the highest technologies.

“The U.S. and its mercenaries will take their goals to the grave,” noted Sabahifard, pointing to the long list of plots and hostilities by American officials against the Iranian nation.

“The greater the pressure, the more the motivation to progress,” stated the commander, adding although sanctions are imposed on the country, the Army and the IRGC are at the highest level of self-sufficiency, readiness, and combat power, and both forces are one unit.

The top general termed “jihadi work” as the incentive that led to the design and production of missile systems, radars, and sensors with and without radiation, drones, information gathering systems, and electronic and cyber warfare equipment.

“There is no loophole to penetrate the country’s sky,” said the commander, adding that this combat power has been gained through numerous drills and continuous monitoring of the country’s sky.

“I loudly announce that the powerful Air Defense Force does not depend on any country to meet its defense needs in all sectors,” said the general, referring to the Bavar 373 long-range missile system which symbolizes Iran’s self-sufficiency in the air defense force.

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The Navy’s public relations department said that an EP-3E airplane of the U.S. Navy was about to intrude into Iran’s airspace over the Sea of Oman.

The vigilant naval forces gave the plane a warning and blocked its unauthorized entry into the Iranian airspace, the Navy added.

The aircraft heeded the warning, stayed away from the Iranian aerial border and returned to international routes.

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According to ISNA, citing the Ministry of Defense, General Khajeh Fard pointed out that “whenever Iran paid special attention to the development of technology, it clinched a victory.”

Given the preparation process of the Simorgh aircraft, the CEO of the Aviation Industries Organization underscored that “the Simorgh aircraft, which was unveiled in May, has finalized its transformational process to become a taxi that is well prepared for flight.”

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The agreement is the result of negotiations that took place between the two aviation authorities in June 2021, Rosaviatsia explained in a statement.

Facing difficulties to export its civilian aircraft, Russia could find solace in the coveted Iranian market.

In May 2018, the United States administration decided to reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran, described by then-newly-elected President Donald Trump as the main sponsor of international terrorism.

Many companies of the aviation industry on both sides of the Atlantic were affected as a result, annulling hundreds of aircraft sales ‒ worth over $30 billion ‒ to Iran.

Only the Franco-Italian planemaker ATR managed to deliver five aircraft to Iran Air on August 5, 2018, a mere day before new American sanctions took effect.

The President of the United States Donald Trump announced on May 8, 2018 his intention to pull out from Iranian nuclear deal and to restore sanctions on Iran. The bans about to be enforced again concern the trade of oil, metal… and aviation. The decision will affect many companies of the aviation industry on both sides of the Atlantic, countering hundreds of aircraft sales – worth billions of dollars – to Iran.

With the country being under international sanctions since the end of the 1970s, Iran’s civil aviation is in dire need of new aircraft. According to Planespotters.net data, the average fleet age of the national carrier Iran Air is 18.6 years.

It is not the first time that Russia makes a push to export its aircraft to the Islamic Republic. In April 2018, two Iranian carriers, Iran Air Tours and its subsidiary Aseman Airlines, signed a $2 billion agreement to purchase 40 Sukhoi Superjet aircraft.

However, as the Sukhoi regional jet contained over 10% (22%, according to Russian state news RIA) of U.S.-made parts, it fell under the sanctions of the U.S. Treasury.

Since then, the United Aircraft Corporation, the parent company of Sukhoi, has vowed to “russify” the Superjet in order to ease its export. The work should be completed by 2023. According to the Russian media, Iran has already expressed interest in this new version of the aircraft.

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The achievements developed by Iranian experts at the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of the Army Ground Force were put on display on Sunday during a ceremony in the presence of Deputy Chief of Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari and Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari.

The ceremony rolled out a radar warning system capable of detecting and jamming airborne interception radars used in drones, helicopters and fighter jets, in addition to an alarm system for detection of laser-guided weaponry and airborne threats, which can be employed against the enemy’s short-range air defense systems and has the ability to send alerts to UAV ground control stations.

The Ground Force also showcased Ranesh-1 (Propulsion-1) micro turbojet engine, which can be used in various drones, single-seat light aircraft, a wide array of missile systems, and unmanned boats.

The turbojet engine is light enough to generate high speed thrust, runs on different types of fuel, has a high service ceiling compared to piston engines, can carry payloads, and can considerably boost the flight endurance record in a variety of drones.

The other home-grown products included self-protection and drone-mounted TIAM 1400 system for detection of the enemy’s radars and air surveillance.

The system uses different frequency bands to decipher various types of air surveillance radar signals, and intelligently transmits the received signal to the jammer in order to disrupt it.

The ceremony also featured a flight system that is based on artificial intelligence and incorporates drones and a land-based Taha 1400 radar jamming system that can be carried by drones.

Taha 1400 system uses directional antennas to intelligently cover a wide area of ​​operation, and maintains the flight safety of various drones in the enemy’s locale.

The system is smart and light, a low-voltage consumer and can be installed quickly and easily.

Finally, a land-based jamming system used for countering hostile drones and remote-controlled systems was among the new military achievements unveiled on Sunday.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great progress in indigenously developing and manufacturing a broad range of equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in this regard.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to build up its defense capabilities, emphasizing such abilities are entirely meant for the purpose of defense and will be never subject to negotiations.

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In an address to the Parliament on Tuesday, General Hatami said Iran has attained self-sufficiency in producing many aircraft components, MP Abolfazl Abutorabi told Tasnim.

The defense minister said that local technicians are manufacturing more than 70 percent of the airplane and helicopter components inside the country, in such a way that Iran is not reliant on foreigners any more, the lawmaker added.

Although Iran was not a manufacturer of planes and choppers and despite the large variety of aircraft, the Islamic Republic has managed to manufacture the components for repair and overhaul of the aircraft, Abutorabi quoted the minister as saying.

The MP also noted that General Hatami gave an assurance that Iran is in perfect conditions in terms of defense capabilities and dismissed concerns about the defense industry.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.

Earlier this month, an Iranian Defense Ministry official unveiled plans for the mass production of homegrown helicopter Saba-248.

In February 2018, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran’s defense capabilities, hitting back at the enemies for disputing the country’s missile program.

“Without a moment of hesitation, the country must move to acquire whatever is necessary for defense, even if the whole world is opposed to it,” Ayatollah Khamenei said at the time.

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“In order to participate in joint Russian-Indian multi-service exercise, Indra, the Russian side plans to send over 40 aircraft of various types, including 15 fighter jets, about 20 military-transport aircraft and more than five army aviation helicopters to the Republic of India,” the Russian Eastern Military District’s press service said on Tuesday.

Russian aircraft will provide aerial support to ground troops and navy forces during the exercise, Tass reported.

The Russian naval group will include two warships, a sea tanker, a helicopter and two or three motor boats.

The Indra-2019 maneuvers will take place at overland and sea ranges as well as at one of the military airfields of the Indian Armed Forces. About 300 servicemen of the Eastern Military District will participate in the drills from the Russian side. The Indra-2018 exercise took place at Babina army range in the State of Uttar Pradesh (India) engaging a total of 500 servicemen.

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