The U.S. Treasury Issues License for Sale of Passenger Aircraft to Iran

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued a "general license" for the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran, allowing American companies to sell planes to Iran for the first time in over three decades. The Treasury Department issued this license on Thursday, March 25, and posted the text on its website. The text of this "general license" specifies that American citizens are permitted to participate in all common transactions related to negotiations, as well as contracts subject to "licensing activities related to the export and re-export of commercial passenger aircraft and related parts and services to Iran," provided that the execution of any of these contracts requires a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (conditional contract). Barack Obama, the President of the United States, had issued a license for the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran on January 15 of last year. This license was issued on the eve of the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which ended the confrontation between Iran and the international community over Tehran's nuclear program. Many of Iran's Boeing aircraft are from the 1970s and 1980s, and the country faces challenges in modernizing its air fleet. Following the issuance of Obama's license, the American company Boeing announced on February 19 that it had received the green light from the U.S. government to conduct business activities with Iran. This American company stated that based on the license it received, it is allowed to cooperate with approved airlines in Iran. Abbas Akhoundi, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, also stated on March 4 that they have invited Boeing executives to visit Iran for the purchase of passenger aircraft. The U.S. banned the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran following the hostage crisis of its diplomats in Tehran in 1979. Iranian officials have stated that although the ban on aircraft sales is not related to oil and banking sanctions concerning Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. agreed to lift the ban on aircraft sales to Iran during nuclear negotiations. Iran and France signed 20 contracts and memorandums of understanding during President Hassan Rouhani's visit to France this year, with the purchase of 118 Airbus aircraft worth $25 billion being one of the most significant of these contracts.