Boeing and Airbus Sales Licenses to Iran Revoked Following US Withdrawal from JCPOA
The US Treasury Secretary announced that following the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA, licenses for Boeing and Airbus to sell passenger aircraft to Iran would be revoked. Trump had stated that with the US exit from the agreement, sanctions against Iran would be reinstated.
Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, said on Tuesday (May 8 / Ordibehesht 18 local time) shortly after Donald Trump announced the country’s withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, that the licenses for Boeing and Airbus to sell passenger aircraft to Iran would be revoked. He also stated that new US sanctions would severely restrict Iran’s oil exports.
Trump, announcing the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran known as the JCPOA, said that US economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic would be reimposed. The nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015 was aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons in exchange for serious restrictions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, resulting in the suspension of these sanctions.
Following this agreement, Iran Air had ordered a total of 200 passenger aircraft: 100 Airbus aircraft, 80 Boeing aircraft, and 20 aircraft from the Franco-Italian company “ATR”. All transactions by these aircraft manufacturing companies require Washington’s approval due to their severe dependence on American components.
According to Reuters news agency, the US Treasury Department, which is responsible for issuing export control licenses, announced that after 90 days, it would no longer issue licenses for exporting passenger aircraft, their parts, and services to Iran.
Boeing’s spokesperson, following Steven Mnuchin’s remarks, stated that the American company would henceforth comply with US regulations. European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, however, has not yet responded to the US Treasury Secretary’s statements.
Iran’s fleet is aging. Following the signing of the JCPOA, the Iranian government made significant efforts to rebuild its fleet by concluding contracts with Boeing and Airbus. However, these efforts, like many other benefits Iran hoped to achieve through the JCPOA, faced serious obstacles with Donald Trump’s rise to power in America.
Officals of the Islamic Republic had previously, despite the nuclear agreement with world powers and the suspension of economic sanctions, repeatedly accused Washington of obstruction against the delivery of American and European-made passenger aircraft to Iran.
