Minister: Iran, Airbus to Finalize Deal Soon
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi Iran will finalize a contract with French plane manufacturer Airbus for purchase of jetliners in the near future.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Akhoundi said his ministry and Airbus representatives held negotiations in Tehran last week following the US decision to remove a final hurdle for Western aircraft manufacturers to sell planes to Iran under contracts signed after coming into force of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
“The contract with Airbus will be finalized soon,” he added.
Akhoundi noted that talks with Boeing are also in progress with “positive attitude on part of both sides.”
While the Western plane makers are impatient to begin trade with Iran, Washington still demands that even non-American manufacturers wishing to sell to Iran obtain an export license if their products include materials made in the United States. Airbus, based in Europe, buys more than 40 percent of all its aircraft parts from the US.
During a visit to Paris in January by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran signed the major contract with Airbus worth about $27 billion to buy 118 planes.
Iran also sealed a deal in June worth around $25 billion with the US aerospace heavyweight, Boeing, for the purchase of 100 passenger planes.
