Iran to Finalize Airbus Deal in Days: Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iran’s Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi said the country is going to finalize a contract with French plane manufacturer Airbus for purchase of jetliners next week.
Speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition on Sunday, Akhoundi said the final contract with Airbus to purchase brand-new aircraft will be signed within the next few days.
He said details of the contract will be made public afterwards.
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 and Airbus intensified business negotiations in October 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).
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.
Iran sealed another deal in June worth around $25 billion with the US aerospace heavyweight, Boeing, for the purchase of 100 passenger planes.
In December, the deal with Boing was finalized, allowing Iran to buy 80 planes within 10 years. The first deliveries are expected in 2018.
