U.S. House of Representatives Approves Ban on Sale of Passenger Aircraft to Iran

The U.S. House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, passed a bill on Thursday, November 17, prohibiting the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran. According to the Associated Press, the bill was approved with 243 votes in favor and 174 against, and American lawmakers mandated the U.S. Treasury Department to refrain from issuing licenses for American banks to conduct financial transactions related to the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran. The House's decision is a move against the Obama administration's decision to authorize the sale of Airbus and Boeing passenger aircraft to Iran. Airbus was set to sell 118 aircraft worth $25 billion to Iran, which Tehran later reduced to 112. Boeing also announced the export of over 80 aircraft worth $17.6 billion to Iran. Republicans argue that these passenger aircraft are intended for a country that is the world's number one supporter of terrorism and violates UN resolutions by conducting ballistic missile tests. The U.S. Treasury Department stated that the licenses issued for Boeing and Airbus include 'strict conditions to ensure that the aircraft sold to Iran will only be used for commercial purposes and cannot be sold or transferred to a specific organization.' Meanwhile, Peter Roskam, a Republican representative from Illinois, called the sale of aircraft to Iran a 'scandal.' He strongly criticized Boeing and Airbus for dealing with Tehran, stating, 'We want to ensure that the financial system (of the U.S.) is not involved in this transaction. We want to make sure that American taxpayers are not contributing to this deal.' Although Roskam is from Illinois, where Boeing is headquartered, the aircraft sold by the company to Iran are produced in Washington State. Democrats view the new Republican measure as another attempt to undermine the Iran nuclear agreement and the credibility of the Obama administration. It remains unclear how the Republican-controlled Senate will respond to the House's decision. The Obama administration warned the House on November 15 that it would veto any legislation that would obstruct financial facilities for the export of passenger aircraft to Iran. The Iran nuclear agreement reached in July 2015 allows Tehran to modernize its aging fleet of aircraft in exchange for halting its nuclear activities. The Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development recently stated, 'Currently, there are 266 aircraft in Iran's passenger air fleet, of which 110 are inactive. Therefore, we only have 156 active aircraft with an average age of 23 years.' American lawmakers expect that after Donald Trump's inauguration as the new U.S. president in January, they will pursue other ways to stop the sale of passenger aircraft to Iran. Trump has been a critic of the JCPOA and described the agreement reached with Iran as 'a very bad deal.'