Iran seals deal to buy 100 Boeing aircraft
Print Edition
IRAN yesterday said it has reached an agreement with Boeing to purchase 100 aircraft to renew its aging fleet, though the deal must still be approved by the US government.
The Islamic republic has ordered about 200 planes from three Western manufacturers since mid-January, when economic sanctions were lifted following an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s civil aviation authority, said in remarks published by the daily Iran newspaper that an agreement had been reached with Boeing for the purchase but said the deal was contingent on US Treasury permission.
Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan however said yesterday that he hoped the initial accord could be done within a month.
He told the Fars news agency that the deal would be “the largest and most important contract” with the United States — barring military deals — since before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A nuclear agreement in July with six world powers, including the US, has lifted some of the economic sanctions on Iran in return for limits on the Islamic republic’s controversial atomic program.
Many of Iran’s aging civil aviation fleet — 230 planes out of 250 according to Abedzadeh — are in desperate need of replacement.
Boeing has fallen behind the race to restock Iran because as an American company it has to obtain the green light from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control before completing any contracts with Iran.
It has requested final authorization for the sale, according to Abedzadeh.
He said the contract’s reported value of US$17 billion was not final and more details will be provided after further negotiations.
Boeing confirmed on Wednesday that it was in talks with Iranian airlines keen in buying its passenger planes.
“We have been engaged in discussions with Iranian airlines approved (by the US government) about potential purchases of Boeing commercial passenger airplanes and services,” the company said in an e-mail.
In February, Boeing was granted approval from the US government to explore resuming sales to Iran.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
