Iran has signed a deal with Russia in which it will export parts and equipment manufactured in Iran for Russian aircraft, as well as for the Middle Eastern country’s repair centres to carry out repair and maintenance services and give technical support to Russian carriers, Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency reported citing comments by Civil Aviation Organisation of Iran (CAO) spokesman Mir-Akbar Razavi.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was reportedly signed when Dmitry Zverev, Russia’s deputy transport minister, visited Iran on a working visit in late June and met the head of the aviation authority, Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh. The deal was later affirmed when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Iran on July 20 for his first trip outside the former Soviet Union since his invasion of Ukraine.
The two sides have also agreed to increase the number of flights between Russia and Iran to 35 per week, the news agency said. According to the ch-aviation capacities module, there are currently five - Aeroflot and Nordwind Airlines link Moscow Sheremetyevo with Tehran Imam Khomeini 2x weekly each, while Mahan Air flies 1x weekly between Tehran and Moscow Vnukovo.
In addition under the MOU, the two countries’ airlines will be allowed to operate cargo flights without capacity restrictions.
As ch-aviation has previously reported, Western sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have banned the sale of spare parts, maintenance, and insurance to aircraft being operated in Russia, inevitably meaning that Russia will soon be forced to start cannibalising the aircraft on its territory.
