Iranian Aircraft in Limbo

Given Boeing's definitive announcement, it seems that the purchase agreements of Iranian companies from Boeing will be canceled. However, considering the ambiguous statement from Airbus, what will be the fate of the aircraft ordered from this company? The U.S. Treasury Department has announced that following Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the nuclear deal with Iran, the licenses for the sale of Airbus and Boeing aircraft to Iran will be revoked. Any passenger aircraft that has at least 10% of its parts manufactured by American companies must obtain official approval from the U.S. Treasury Department or OFAC to be sold to Iran. The U.S. Treasury Department has stated that the license for the sale of aircraft to Iran will be revoked after a 90-day period. Boeing has announced that it will comply with U.S. government policies; however, Airbus has not yet specified what exactly it will do. Iran Air has signed a contract to purchase 80 Boeing aircraft, Aseman Airlines has signed a contract for 30 Boeing aircraft, and Qeshm Air has signed a memorandum for the purchase of 10 Boeing aircraft. In total, Boeing will be deprived of selling 120 aircraft to Iran. Airbus is set to deliver a significantly larger number of aircraft to Iran under its contracts. The company has signed contracts with Iran Air for the sale of 100 aircraft, with Iran Air Tours for the sale of 45 aircraft, and with Zagros Airlines for the sale of 28 aircraft. In total, Airbus was supposed to sell 173 aircraft to Iran. Furthermore, this collaboration with Iran Air is important for Airbus because Iran Air is a significant customer for two of the company's new models, the wide-body A330neo and A350 series. Iran Air has placed the second-largest order for the A330neo after AirAsia. According to Airbus, AirAsia ordered 66, Iran Air 28, and Delta Airlines in the U.S. ordered 25 A330neo series 900 aircraft. Rainer Ohler, Airbus's public relations manager, stated, 'We will carefully assess the announcement from the U.S. President, and our next steps will be based on internal policies and full compliance with sanctions and export regulations. This will take time.' The French government and the European Union are currently seeking a way to prevent U.S. punitive actions against European companies that are operating with Iran under the JCPOA. However, even if they succeed, the situation with Airbus is somewhat different. The company uses a large number of American parts in its products. Even if Airbus manages to replace American parts with European ones in orders related to Iran, a significant problem will remain regarding the engines. Currently, most engines used in Airbus aircraft are either made in the U.S. or contain many American parts in European engines. Iran has ordered models for its aircraft that use Rolls-Royce European engines, but the problem is that many parts of these engines are also American. Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, the advisor to the Minister of Roads and Urban Development for international affairs, told Fars News Agency, 'The issue of withdrawal from the JCPOA was not anticipated in the contracts, and we were not supposed to have such a prediction. We must wait to see how the Europeans will react to Trump's decision regarding the JCPOA. We have informed Airbus to clarify its position under these circumstances.' After the JCPOA, 9 new aircraft have been added to Iran's air fleet, of which three are Airbus and six are French-Italian ATR aircraft. The ATR company is set to deliver a total of 20 short-haul aircraft to Iran, with two aircraft currently ready for delivery, but it is unclear whether the company can deliver the remaining twelve to Iran. If the delivery schedule for the new aircraft had gone correctly, Iran should have received 9 Airbus aircraft last year, but this did not happen. The delivery of aircraft to Iran Air and other Iranian airlines has faced numerous delays due to financing issues and the lack of cooperation from global banks. Airbus and Iran Air have 90 days to expedite certain aspects of their contracts to deliver more new aircraft to Iran. According to the agreement between the two parties, 85% of the financial resources required for the entry of new aircraft into Iran's fleet must be financed, while none of the international banks have provided a final contract for these financings so far. Abbas Akhoundi, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, stated, 'While Airbus is trying to maintain its contract with Iran Air, due to the restrictions of the U.S. Treasury Department's license, it will need a change in approach or to circumvent the sanctions.' Despite these statements, if Iran Air misses the remaining 90-day deadline, it may not be allowed to purchase new aircraft from a company like Airbus for years.