Ministry of Roads Official: Airbus Representatives in Iran to Finalize Purchase of 100 Aircraft

One day after the final signing of the agreement to purchase 80 aircraft from Boeing, the Deputy Minister of Roads in Iran announced that representatives from Airbus have also traveled to Tehran since Sunday, and the contract for purchasing aircraft from this company is likely to be finalized within a week. On Tuesday, December 22, Asghar Fakhrieh, in an interview with AFP, stated that negotiations with Airbus representatives have begun and if no issues arise, the final contract for the purchase of about 100 aircraft from this company will be signed within the next week. Meanwhile, Farhad Parvaresh, the CEO of Iran Air, mentioned in an interview with Iranian television that negotiations to finalize the Airbus contract are ongoing and are expected to conclude within a week or two. He noted that negotiations for purchasing aircraft from Airbus had started earlier than those with Boeing and predicted that the first aircraft purchased from Airbus would arrive in Iran before the Persian New Year in 2017. According to Mr. Parvaresh, under the contract with Boeing, the delivery of 15 Boeing 777 aircraft will begin in late November 2018, and the delivery of 737 aircraft will start in 2021. He also stated that six Boeing 777 aircraft will be delivered in 2018, six in 2019, and three in 2020. Iran Air and Boeing signed the final contract for the purchase of 80 aircraft worth $16.6 billion in Tehran on Sunday. The Deputy CEO of Boeing announced that the company finalized the contract with Iran after receiving approval from the U.S. government. Both Airbus and Boeing had announced in September that the U.S. government had issued the necessary licenses for selling aircraft to Iran. In this context, John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated on Tuesday, December 3, that the issuance of the license by the U.S. Treasury Department to Airbus for selling aircraft was part of Washington's commitments under the nuclear agreement, the JCPOA. Airbus was supposed to sell 118 aircraft worth $25 billion to Iran, but Tehran later reduced this number to 112. However, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday, November 27, that prohibits the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran. The Obama administration has stated that it would veto any congressional bill prohibiting the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran, as it would undermine the nuclear agreement. Donald Trump, during his campaign, stated that if he won, he would review the nuclear agreement with Iran. Nevertheless, the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran announced on Tuesday that the purchase of 80 Boeing aircraft was conducted under the license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury (OFAC) and legally, "no one can disrupt it in the future." Abbas Akhoundi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, also mentioned in an interview with Iranian television regarding the execution guarantees of this contract that, "The system of this contract and its guarantees are based on the provisions of international contracts, and international arbitration can rule on it." Years of sanctions against Iran have led to the deterioration of Iran's aviation fleet, and Iran Air is trying to improve the quality of its fleet by purchasing or leasing new aircraft. Meanwhile, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development stated on Sunday after signing the contract with Boeing that with the arrival of 80 aircraft purchased from Boeing, 50,000 seats will be added to the country's aviation fleet. He emphasized that soon, with the finalization of the purchase of 100 Airbus aircraft and 20 ATR aircraft, the modernization of Iran Air's fleet will be pursued more rapidly. In addition to the Airbus and Boeing contracts, Iran Air is looking to purchase 40 ATR aircraft for small airports in Iran. A contract for 20 of these aircraft has been signed, and eight of them are expected to arrive in Iran by the end of the year.