After nuke deal, Rouhani says Iran could soon buy new planes

Iran's president has pointed to another possible windfall from the nuclear deal with world powers -- his country may soon be able to buy badly needed new planes for its aging fleet, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Hassan Rouhani said Iranian negotiators came away from the talks in Vienna with "achievements beyond the nuclear" agreement and succeeded in having "aviation sanctions removed." His remarks were carried by the official IRNA news agency late Wednesday.

The last time Iran bought new aircraft directly from a Western company was in the early 1990s from the Dutch manufacturer Fokker, which later went bankrupt.

"We will provide new aircraft for Iran," Akhoundi said.

Last month at the Paris Air Show, Akhoundi said Iran was prepared to spend about $20 billion to purchase about 400 new planes over the next decade.