Iraqi: Negotiations with Boeing and Airbus Have Not Yet Concluded

Abbas Araghchi, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, stated that negotiations between Iran Air and the companies Airbus and Boeing for the delivery of passenger aircraft to Iran "have not yet reached a conclusion." On Sunday, October 25, he told the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency: "Both Airbus and Boeing simultaneously requested permission from the U.S. Treasury Department to sell these aircraft to Iran," and "the main issue was the delay in issuing these permits, which has now been resolved." He added, "The delay in the delivery of the aircraft is related to the ongoing negotiations between Iran Air and Airbus and Boeing, which have not yet reached a conclusion." The Deputy Foreign Minister described these negotiations as "extensive and complex," covering multiple technical and legal dimensions, but expressed hope that "the first aircraft will arrive in Iran." These remarks by Abbas Araghchi come at a time when Dennis Muilenburg, the CEO of Boeing, recently stated that the delivery of passenger aircraft from this American company to Iran could take one, two, or perhaps three years. Muilenburg also added that discussions with Iran on this matter are "progressing." After the nuclear agreement with world powers, Iran signed separate contracts to purchase dozens of passenger aircraft from the European-French company Airbus and the American company Boeing, worth billions of dollars. The first difficulty for Iran was that the U.S. government had to issue the necessary permits for these contracts to be executed, which eventually happened after some back and forth. The sale of passenger aircraft and their parts to Iran was sanctioned by the United States after the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was occupied by "Muslim students following the line of Imam" and the personnel and diplomats of the embassy were taken hostage.