TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran is holding talks with European plane-maker Airbus to buy 48 helicopters for civilian use, an Iranian official was on Saturday quoted as saying, as Iran continues its shopping spree of Western aircraft after the lifting of sanctions.
"The Health Ministry is planning to order 45 HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) helicopters and the purchase is being negotiated by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development," Deputy Minister Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan said.
"Ports and Maritime Organization is also planning to hold a tender to purchase three search-and-rescue helicopters," he added.
Airbus Helicopters, the world's largest commercial helicopter manufacture, was not immediately available for comment.
Iran has ordered more than 200 planes since sanctions against the country were lifted last year in return for curbs on the country's nuclear activities.
Flag-carrier Iran Air has ordered 100 planes from Airbus, 80 from U.S. rival Boeing and 20 ATR turboprops, but implementing the deals has been hampered by uncertainty over financing.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not believe that Iran was living up to the spirit of the 2015 deal to curtail its nuclear weapons program. But it was not immediately clear whether Washington may take measures that could affect Tehran's plane purchases.
In June, Airbus said two other Iranian airlines had committed to buying 73 planes in a last-minute flurry of deals for the aircraft manufacturer at the Paris Airshow.
Fakhrieh-Kashan said Iran was holding negotiations to merge the helicopter order into the Iran Air-Airbus contract signed in December.