TEHRAN - National flag-carrier Iran Air (HOMA) on Monday announced that it is considering plans to overhaul jumbo jets in Iran for the first time.

The Director of the Iran Air Mechanical Operations Department, Abdollah Maleki, said that currently three Boeing and Airbus planes are being fully overhauled, adding that the maintenance service on a Boeing 747 will soon be completed.

Maleki told the Fars News Agency that Iran Air is capable of becoming a base in the region for carrying out basic maintenance work on heavy planes.

He stressed that Iran previously carried out only Check-C services on planes, adding that the planes would be sent to European countries for a full overhaul.

This, Maleki said, was very costly for Iran Air.

Iran's aviation fleet is mostly comprised of American-made Boeings, purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

However, U.S. unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic have prevented Iran from properly maintaining the planes, thus forcing Tehran to turn to Russian and Ukrainian planes.

The Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) is facing mounting pressure because most of domestic air tragedies have involved these Russian and Ukrainian planes.