Iran has struck a provisional deal with Europe's Airbus to buy 127 aircraft, including eight A-380 superjumbo planes, the country's deputy transport minister told Reuters on Sunday.

The deal, which Iran hopes to complete this week, also includes 16 A350 jets, Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, said in an interview on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Tehran.

Planes will begin to be delivered from March and the A380s will be delivered from 2019.
 
He also said Iran was interested in regional aircraft including Mitsubishi's MRJ and Canada's Bombardier CSeries and has had some contact with both companies.

Private Iranian airlines are also talking to Brazil's Embraer and Russia's Sukhoi.

The republic could need as many as 500 new planes over the next three years, lawmaker Mahdi Hashemi, the chairman of the parliament's Development Commission, said at Tehran's the conference.

Transport Minister Abbas Akhoondi told journalists Tehran would discuss details with Airbus next week and was also interested in negotiating with US plane maker Boeing for aircraft.

Tehran has long said it will need to revamp an aging fleet, hit by a shortage of parts because of trade bans imposed by Washington and other Western powers.

Its planes fleet have suffered several fatal crashes in recent years

He also urged international investors and airlines to move quickly into Iran after the lifting of sanctions.

"Come with your proposals. We would like to have new contracts and serve them immediately and make up for the losses that we suffered from in the past," Hashemi said.

Iran emerged from years of economic isolation when world powers last week lifted crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions.

The deal also released billions of dollars worth of frozen Iranian assets and opened the door for global companies that have been barred from doing business in Iran. - Reuters