Boeing: Progress Made on Contract with Iran, No Aircraft Delivered This Year

The executive director of Boeing has announced that the company has made progress in executing a contract to sell over 100 passenger aircraft to Iran, but no aircraft will be delivered to Iran this year. The sale of Boeing aircraft to Iran is part of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers in 2015, under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nuclear sanctions against the country. According to Reuters, Dennis Muilenburg stated at a conference on future technologies in Chicago that this contract will not be executed during the current calendar year (2016), which has two months remaining, but will be completed in the next two or three years. He added that this contract is an important opportunity for Boeing and expressed happiness that it is continuously progressing. The Boeing CEO further clarified that they are in the final stages of structuring the agreement with their customers in Iran and are simultaneously negotiating with U.S. government officials to obtain the necessary permits. Last month, officials from both Airbus and Boeing announced that the U.S. government had issued the necessary permits for the sale of aircraft to Iran. According to the report, Airbus will sell 17 aircraft to Iran in the first phase. Justin Dubon, a spokesperson for Airbus, stated on Wednesday, September 21, that these 17 aircraft are of the A320 and A330 models, for which the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued sales permits to Iran. Iran has signed a contract to purchase 118 aircraft from Airbus at an approximate cost of $27 billion.