The purchase and renewal of the traffic police's fleet in Tehran requires formal permits from the municipality and the city council, said Traffic Police chief, Taqi Mehri.
Tehran Municipality will have to issue the permit, as it will be the organization paying for the new cars. However, as yet, the permits have not been issued for the traffic police to purchase new vehicles, Persian Khodro reported.
The issue of replacing the old Mercedes C-class vehicles, which are currently used by the police force, with newer models has repeatedly been discussed over the past few years. Previously, a number of Mazda 3s had been purchased and unveiled for use by the police within the capital only.
In 2015, Traffic Police chief, General Teymour Hosseini, had said Iran's Mercedes C and Peugeot 206 police cars are at the end of their lives, as the country is planning to upgrade its aging fleet of police cars.
At the same time, acting deputy coordinator of the Law Enforcement Forces, General Mohammad Javad Zadehkamand, rejected rumors about Iran Khodro Company's Samand being selected as the replacement vehicle.
Mazda 3 was unveiled less than a year after the remarks were made.
Tasnim News Agency reported at the time that a number of vehicles were being test driven and assessed by the police force.
Officials with the police force had announced that the cars will be used to renew the fleet if the tests brought desirable results.
Iran's police force is only allowed to use vehicles that have been made or assembled in Iran. If the cars are imported, the police will have to obtain permits from Iran's Armed Forces. The cars must also be cheap to maintain and should meet the technical needs of the police force.
Recently, however, photos have spread on social media showing a Hyundai Santa Fe marked with the police logo. This vehicle is not currently produced inside the country.
Officials have not yet released an official statement as to whether the South Korean SUV will be officially joining the fleet.
