Valiati: Ban on Selling Aircraft to Iran Violates JCPOA

Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, deemed the U.S. House of Representatives' resolution prohibiting the sale of commercial aircraft to Iran as a violation of the nuclear agreement. According to IRIB News Agency, Mr. Velayati stated on Thursday, September 14: "The ban on selling aircraft to Iran is another sign that we should not rely on the U.S. and its allies; the Islamic Republic does not need the Americans to advance its goals, and throughout the years since the Islamic Revolution, the West has never shown goodwill towards the Iranian people." On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved amendments to next year's budget that prevent the issuance of permits for selling aircraft to Iran. These amendments must also be approved by the Senate and signed by the U.S. President to take effect. However, Ali Akbar Velayati claims that Iran fundamentally does not need American aircraft. He stated: "This action by the Americans is a violation of the JCPOA, and every day a new action is taken regarding the Islamic Republic by the newly elected American President or their Congress, which shows that we should not rely on the U.S. and do not need them." He continued: "Both internationally and domestically, we can meet Iran's needs without needing the U.S. We are not concerned that they will use leverage against us; thus, these pressures are not a concern for us and are merely an American delusion that leads nowhere." In January 2016, then-President Barack Obama authorized his Secretary of State to issue a permit for the sale of aircraft to Iran within the framework of the nuclear agreement, leading to Iran Air reaching an agreement with Boeing for the purchase of aircraft, which ended over three decades of sanctions on the sale of American aircraft to Iran. The resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday has raised warnings from some Democratic representatives, who stated that this could undermine the Vienna nuclear agreement.