TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has banned its airlines from leasing more Russian-made aircraft or buying such planes secondhand after two fatal incidents last month, a senior transport official said in remarks published Tuesday.
On July 15, a Russian-built Tupolev operated by Iran’s Caspian Airlines flying to Armenia crashed in northwestern Iran, killing all 168 people aboard.
Nine days later, 17 people were killed when an Ilyushin Il-62, also made in Russia and leased by Iran’s Aria Tour from Kazakhstan, veered off the runway and hit a wall in northeastern Iran.
