According to Deputy Roads and Urban Development Minister Asghar Fakhrieh, 9 planes are expected to join the fleet of civil flights before the new Iranian year, which will start in March 2017.

The new aircraft will be employed for travels in the high season during the Nowruz holidays, he added.

During Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to France in January, Iran and Airbus clinched a deal on a major order, which includes dozens of Airbus’s biggest-selling jets.

Iran has agreed to buy 118 Airbus jets, including 45 A320 single-aisle aircraft, 45 A330 wide-bodies, 16 A350 twin-aisle aircraft, and 12 A380’s.

Later, Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, finalized a contract with ATR aircraft manufacturer to purchase 20 turboprops.

Iran also sealed a deal in June worth around $25 billion with the US aerospace heavyweight, Boeing, for the purchase of 100 passenger planes.

In September, the US decided to remove a final hurdle for Western aircraft manufacturers to sell planes to Iran under contracts signed after coming into force of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the group of six countries.