Reuters - The French minister Economy and Finance said Tuesday have "good hope" that ATR gets permission from the United States to deliver eight regional� planes to Iran before August 6 despite the sanctions inflicted on Tehran.

"I am confident that the United States is giving us authorization to deliver these ATRs, "said Bruno Le Maire, interviewed by BFM TV. "There were eight to be delivered before the 6th August, "he added, highlighting the" significant share "of the figure which represents for ATR such an order.

Deliveries of turboprop aircraft have been interrupted in May after the withdrawal of the United States - which must approve any export of aircraft containing� more than 10% of components manufactured in the United States - from the agreement on nuclear power and the return to a sanctions regime against the Islamic Republic. The group held at parity by Airbus AIR.PA and the Italian Leonardo LDOF.MI had alerted earlier this month to the "serious prejudice "of this decision.

Nobody within ATR was available immediately to comment on the statements of Bruno the Mayor. He expressed his optimism for other sectors, without going into detail.

"I've been negotiating for weeks with my counterpart, the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and I have good hope we get on a number of topics that
directly affect our SMEs and our jobs in territories of the American overtures, "he said. "I am also fighting for that in the health sector, in the agri-food sector, which are today out sanction, there may be funding channels that remain open, "said the French minister.

France had requested, with other European countries, US sanctions exemptions for his companies trading with Iran, a request to which the United States have opposed a plea of ??inadmissibility.

(Simon Carraud with Cyril Altmeyer, edited by Myriam Rivet)