Government Official Responds to Criticism of Airbus Aircraft Purchases

The First Vice President of Iran and the Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly responded to the recent criticisms from the head of the Basij Organization regarding the outcomes of Hassan Rouhani's trip to France and Italy. Es'hagh Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Hassan Rouhani, on Tuesday described statements such as 'the trip to France and Italy was a dagger in the back of the resistant economy' as 'an injustice to the resistant economy and leadership.' According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Mr. Jahangiri stated on Tuesday, February 1, that 'raising such issues is an injustice to the managers who have provided many services relying on resistant economy policies.' He mentioned that some individuals within the country 'only complain and put obstacles in the way.' Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij Organization, described the events of the President's trip to the two European countries as 'a dagger to the body of the resistant economy.' Mr. Naqdi also criticized the contract for purchasing more than 100 Airbus passenger planes by Iran, claiming that 'Western intelligence agencies have spent money to publicize the purchase of the Airbuses.' 'Resistant economy' is a series of economic policies defined by Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic. In response to the remarks of the head of the Basij Organization, Es'hagh Jahangiri noted, 'In the past 37 years, when we were acquiring second-hand planes from a third-rate country and using them in our air fleet, many were happy that the country finally owned a number of second-hand planes. But during the recent trip of the President, we saw that the most important foreign company, which had even sanctioned the sale of planes to our country before the imposition of nuclear sanctions, provided us with 118 planes with special facilities.' The First Vice President of Hassan Rouhani referred to 'those who said during the negotiations, can negotiations be concluded and the U.S. lift the sanctions?' and remarked, 'Now that these agreements have been made, some are questioning whether the priority of the country was airplanes?' Aladdin Boroujerdi, the Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also raised the question of whether the contract for purchasing these planes 'only benefits France.' According to the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Mr. Boroujerdi asked, 'Are we an aircraft manufacturer?' and stated, 'Our pilgrims who want to go to holy shrines, the House of God, or Mashhad must board a plane, right? Therefore, in the overall actions taken, we have been the winners of the game.'