Iran's first new Airbus jetliner lands in Tehran
The arrival heralds the beginning of a new chapter for the Islamic Republic's creaking and accident-prone aviation industry, which was hobbled by years of sanctions that left carriers struggling to secure spare parts.
Most of Iran's aging fleet of 250 commercial planes was purchased before 1979, and as of June, only 162 were operational, with the rest grounded because of a lack of spare parts.