The head of IranAir took delivery on Wednesday of the first new Western jet under an international sanctions deal, calling it a “sunny day” for peace and friendship between Iran and Europe and a memorable one for aviation in the nation of 80 million people.

IranAir Chairman Farhad Parvaresh invited the plane making chief of Airbus to fly on board the new A321, which has been painted in IranAir's livery, to Tehran where the airline plans to mark its arrival in its fleet with a ceremony on Thursday.

The 189-seat plane is the first of 100 ordered from Airbus following a deal reached in 2015 between Tehran and world powers to lift nuclear-related sanctions against Iran, in return for restrictions on the country's nuclear activities.

The airline has also ordered 80 aircraft from Boeing and is expected to seal an order for 20 turboprops from Europe's ATR.