US government allows Airbus to sell planes to Iran in landmark deal

The first 17 planes will be A320s and A330s

Zlata Rodionova
Wednesday 21 September 2016 14:50 BST
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Airbus  received the license from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
Airbus received the license from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control

Airbus has been granted a license by the US government to sell its first 17 planes to Iran as part of a landmark deal, the airline confirmed on Wednesday.

The deal was made possible by last year’s historic nuclear agreement, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for it curbing its atomic program.

Justin Dubon, Airbus spokesman, said the company received the lisense from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

"Airbus was the first company to sign an agreement with Iran Air and we are pleased to now have a first licence that will allow us to start implementing this agreement," Dubon told the Independent.

Dubon said the licence covers A320s and A330s, which are to be delivered soon.

He did not offer an exact breakdown of how many of each are involved in the sale.

In January, Iran agreed to a historic deal to buy 118 jets worth $27 billion at list prices from Europe's Airbus but has complained about unexpected delays in receiving US licenses, which are needed due to the large number of US supplied parts.

Following the announcement, Boeing said that it expected to receive a lisense to sell jetliners to Iran soon.

Boeing has an agreement with Iran that Iranian officials have suggested could be worth as much as $25 billion.

“We understand that the US government has issued Airbus a lisense to sell aircraft to Iran,” Chicago-based company said in a statement.

“We believe their license application was submitted prior to our similar request and that the government follows a 'first in, first out' policy. We look forward to receiving our license from the government shortly.”

Additonal reporting by AP and Reuters

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