TEHRAN (Press TV) -- An Iranian minister criticizes the ban imposed by certain countries on the sales of airplane parts to Iran, saying they are 'politicizing' such issues.

“Some countries are putting people's lives at stake by politicizing issues such as the sale of airplane parts,” Iranian Roads and Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani said on Sunday.
He made the remarks in the opening speech of an aviation summit in which the Middle East members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) took part.
Under U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran since 1995, aviation firms are banned from selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.
The ICAO has warned that U.S. sanctions against Iran are placing civilian lives in danger by denying Iranian aviation the spare parts necessary for aircraft repair.
Behbahani stressed that Iran has been successful in modernizing its aviation industry despite U.S. sanctions, saying the country currently has 13 domestic airlines, up from two airlines when the sanctions were first enforced.
Representatives from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents some 230 airlines, the European Aviation Suppliers Organization (EASO) as well as Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen participated in the summit.