Iran May Cancel Purchase of Airbus A380: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s order for purchasing a dozen Airbus (AIR.PA) A380 superjumbo jets may be cancelled or amended, a report said.
According to the report carried by Reuters on Monday, Iran is committed to the rest of the order, but is less interested in taking the A380s due to remaining US finical sanctions against Tehran.
In January, Iran signed a major deal worth $27 billion with aviation giant Airbus to purchase 118 planes from the company. The deal with Airbus was sealed during a state visit to Paris by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.
"We always made clear this is an option," an Iranian official told Reuters, asking not to be identified.
"It is possible to switch to other models," he added.
The agreement between Iranian national flag carrier, Iran Air, and Air Bus is still pending. Airbus needs the approval of OFAC (the US Office of Foreign Assets Control) because more than 10 percent of Airbus components are of American origin.
However, an Airbus spokesman said earlier, "Following the preliminary agreement for 118 aircraft signed in January with Iran Air, negotiations are progressing, and as with all agreements, it takes time for them to be firmed up and finalized.”
US aviation giant Boeing said earlier that it has signed an agreement with Iran “under authorizations from the US government following a determination that Iran had met its obligations under the nuclear accord reached last summer.”
Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) finalized the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16.
The JCPOA terminated all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran after coming into force.
The statement by Boeing came after Iran Air confirmed that it has reached a deal with the American carrier and that it wants to buy new generations of the Boeing 737, as well as the 300ER and 900 version of Boeing 777.
Iran has a fleet of 250 aircraft, of which 90 are grounded due to the economy or missing parts, Managing Director of Iran Air Farhad Parvaresh said recently.
Of that total, 80 percent will need to be renewed in the next decade, he said, adding that growth could add even more jets to Iran’s shopping list.