Iran Air took delivery of its first four ATR 72-600s on Tuesday, officially triggering a transaction that includes a firm order for 20 of the Franco-Italian turborprops and options for a further 20. The contract calls for deliveries of the 20 airplanes on firm order to extend until the end of 2018.
“There are still historical moments in aviation, and this is one of them,” said ATR chief executive Christian Scherer. “We are proud and gratified that our ATR aircraft are providing the solution to Iran’s significant needs in regional connectivity.”

With the transaction, ATR becomes the second Western supplier to deliver airliners to Iran Air since implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action) on Jan. 16, 2016. Under that agreement, Iran has agreed to significantly curb its nuclear ambitions and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency regular access to its facilities for inspection. Airbus delivered Iran Air’s first A321 narrowbody on January 11 and has since sent an A330-200 and another A321 under the terms of a contract covering 46 A320-family jets, 38 A330s and 16 A350s.

Boeing, meanwhile, has yet to deliver an airplane from an order announced last December that calls for delivery of fifty 737 Max 8s, fifteen 777-300ERs and fifteen 777-9s valued at $16.6 billion at list prices. While all three manufacturers have secured their required licenses from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to deliver any airplane carrying 10 percent U.S. technology content, questions persist over whether the new Treasury Department secretary appointed by the Trump Administration will exercise his right to amend, modify or revoke the licenses. While Trump remains critical of the 2015 nuclear settlement with Iran that allowed for the export of commercial aircraft to the Islamic Republic, he has also lauded Boeing for its role in creating U.S. jobs through the sale of its aircraft around the globe.