Zarif: Purchasing Aircraft from Boeing Will Also Resolve Issues with Airbus

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated in France that purchasing aircraft from the American company Boeing could resolve issues related to buying planes from Airbus. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Zarif emphasized during a session of the French Senate's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, July 2, that Iran can purchase both the 118 aircraft it has contracted with Airbus and 100 planes from Boeing. The contract for the purchase of 118 passenger aircraft from Airbus was signed during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to France last year. However, Airbus announced last month that concerns about trade with Iran are preventing the finalization of the contract for selling passenger planes to Tehran. Two days after that, the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran stated that the contract with Airbus is still awaiting approval from the U.S. government to be executed. Zarif also mentioned, "One of the limitations that the Americans imposed has been resolved with the contract with Boeing, but the banking issue still exists." The contract with Boeing is valued at $25 billion. Abbas Akhoundi, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, stated on the same day in Tehran that the current number of active aircraft in Iran is 166, many of which must be retired within a year according to international standards. Akhoundi noted that by the year 1404 (2025), Iran will need 551 aircraft in its skies. During his visit to France, Zarif met with French President Francois Hollande and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault. Zarif also defended the human rights situation in Iran, stating that there are "few countries" in the region like Iran that have operated based on elections for the past 37 years. He added, "In the past 37 years, we have had a president in each term who opposed the previous one, meaning that the presidents who held elections had their opposition come to power." Zarif typically defends Iran's human rights situation during foreign trips or interviews with non-Iranian journalists, which often draws reactions from human rights activists and observers.