US: License for Sale of Airbus and Boeing Aircraft to Iran Will Be Revoked

On Tuesday, May 8, the US Treasury Secretary stated that following Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the nuclear deal with Iran, known as the JCPOA, the license for the sale of Airbus and Boeing aircraft to Iran will be revoked. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced on Tuesday after months of anticipation and speculation about the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that Washington would exit this agreement and reinstate suspended sanctions against Iran. According to Reuters, Steve Mnuchin, speaking to reporters about how to implement Trump's order to impose sanctions against Iran, said that under the original agreement (JCPOA), a license for the sale of commercial aircraft, parts, and services had been issued, which would now be revoked. Iran had ordered 200 passenger aircraft, including 100 from Airbus, 80 from Boeing, and 20 from the Italian-French company ATR. The sale of all these aircraft requires a license issued by the US government. Boeing had signed a contract to sell 80 aircraft worth $17 billion to Iran Air in 2016 following the nuclear agreement. Meanwhile, the US Treasury announced that the license for Boeing aircraft to Iran would be revoked after a 90-day period. This comes as the European airline company Airbus had stated on Tuesday that it would make decisions after the US President's announcement. The US Treasury says that the 90-day period will end on August 6, after which the licenses for American companies to conduct transactions with Iran will be revoked. However, a source informed Reuters that Boeing's license to sell aircraft to Iran was valid until September 2020. Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's CEO, stated two weeks ago at a press conference, 'We have no deliveries to Iran that would be part of this year's production plan, so these deliveries have been delayed according to the US government's process.' He emphasized that Boeing would not face issues regarding the lack of progress on the contract with Iran according to the predetermined schedule. Boeing was supposed to deliver the first aircraft, a Boeing 777 model, to Iran Air in May 2018. In this context, the Israeli Prime Minister welcomed the US decision to withdraw from the JCPOA. The US Treasury announced the reinstatement of sanctions against Iran after 90 and 180-day periods. Hassan Rouhani stated that the nuclear agreement would now be between Iran and the other five countries. Live coverage: Latest developments on the JCPOA after the US exit.