The tragedy of Iranian passenger plane crash into the country's Zagros mountains however throws up a lesson for the West in particular. Although decades of unjust and unwarranted sanctions on Iran have failed to destroy the resilience and steadfastness of the Iranian people, these have certainly caused a major harm on Iran's capacity and ability in relation to country's progress in science and technology. As reported by global media, decades of international isolation have left Iran's airlines with ageing fleets of passenger planes which they have struggled to maintain and modernise. Aseman's fleet includes at least three ATR-72s that date back to the early 1990s.

Aseman's three Boeing 727-200s are almost as old as the country's 1979 Islamic revolution, having made their first flights the following year. Iran has suffered multiple aviation disasters, most recently in 2014 when a Sepahan Airlines plane crashed killing 39 people just after take-off from Tehran, narrowly avoiding many more deaths when it plummeted near a busy market. Lifting sanctions on aviation purchases was a key clause in the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in 2015. "Following the deal, Aseman Airlines finalised an agreement to buy 30 Boeing 737 MAX jets for $3 billion (2.4 billion euros) last June, with an option to buy 30 more. However, the sale could be scuppered if US President Donald Trump chooses to re-impose sanctions in the coming months, as he has threatened to do," according to a global news agency. There is little or no doubt about the fact that President Trump wants to punish the Islamic republic for its alleged belligerence against Israel. Iran has shown to the world that it is a nation that has demonstrated unprecedented perseverance and patience in the face of a slew of global sanctions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018