Sale Agreement for 80 Boeing Aircraft to Iran Finalized

IranAir and Boeing signed a final agreement on Sunday for the purchase of 80 aircraft worth $16.6 billion in Tehran. Boeing's Deputy CEO announced that the company finalized the contract with Iran after receiving approval from the U.S. government. Meanwhile, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development stated that the two companies have signed a purchase agreement for the first time in 41 years. According to Farhad Parvaresh, CEO of Iran Air, the contract includes the delivery of 50 Boeing 737 aircraft and 30 wide-body 777 aircraft over a period of 10 years. Fletcher Barak Dal, Boeing's Deputy CEO, confirmed the contract's value and the U.S. government's approval for it. The initial agreement between the two companies was signed in June. In September, both Airbus and Boeing announced that the U.S. government had issued the necessary licenses for selling aircraft to Iran. Airbus was also set to sell 118 aircraft worth $25 billion to Iran, which Tehran later reduced to 112. However, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on November 17 prohibiting the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran. The Obama administration stated that it would veto any congressional resolution banning the sale of passenger planes to Iran, as it would undermine the nuclear agreement. Donald Trump, during his campaign, stated that he would annul the nuclear deal with Iran if elected. The nuclear agreement reached in July 2015 allows Tehran to modernize its aging aircraft fleet in exchange for halting some of its nuclear activities. The issue of purchasing new aircraft has drawn criticism from some close to the Supreme Leader. In response to these criticisms, President Hassan Rouhani stated, "We are going to buy planes, and some say... go buy buses. Yes, we will buy buses, but thank God we make buses ourselves." He emphasized, "I do not know where some people are wandering and where they are that we are unaware of." Years of sanctions against Iran have led to the deterioration of its aviation fleet, and IranAir is attempting to improve the quality of its fleet by purchasing or leasing new aircraft. The Minister of Roads and Urban Development stated that with the arrival of these 80 Boeing aircraft, 50,000 seats will be added to the country's aviation fleet. Abbas Akhoundi emphasized that the purchase of 100 Airbus aircraft and 20 ATR aircraft will soon accelerate the modernization of Iran Air's fleet. In addition to the Airbus and Boeing contracts, IranAir is seeking 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. In this context, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a license for the sale of 106 Airbus aircraft to Iran. Qasemi stated that the congressional resolution prohibiting the sale of aircraft to Iran is not enforceable. The House of Representatives has passed a ban on the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran.