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Will new Airbus delivery help Rouhani's re-election bid take off?

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has delivered its first passenger jet to Iran under its $18 billion contract with the Islamic Republic.
IranAir Chairman Farhad Parvaresh poses near an Airbus A321 painted in IranAir's livery as the company takes delivery of the first new Western jet under an international sanctions deal in Colomiers, near Toulouse, France, January 11, 2017 .   REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RTX2YHMN

Finally, and against all odds, Iran received on Jan. 12 the first passenger jet purchased from European aircraft maker Airbus. The move is a success for moderate President Hassan Rouhani, especially as he faces a bid for re-election in May.

The Airbus jetliner that landed in Tehran Jan. 12 is the first brand-new Western passenger jet delivered to Iran in decades. The country’s current fleet is mostly comprised of planes purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and thus considered very old.

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