DUBAI
Boeing said on Tuesday it has agreed to sell 30 aircraft to Iran Aseman Airline in a deal worth $3 billion (Dh11 billion).
In a statement, the US aircraft manufacturer said it has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Iran Aseman Airlines, expressing the airline’s intent to purchase 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Boeing said deliveries would be scheduled to start in 2022. The agreement also provides the airline with purchase rights for 30 additional 737 MAXs.
Boeing negotiated the memorandum under authorisation from the US government, which said Iran had met its obligations under the nuclear accord signed in 2015. Boeing added that it will look to the Office of Foreign Assets Control for Approval to perform the transaction.
It also said it “continues to follow the lead of the US government with regards to working with Iran’s airlines,” and that any contracts with Iran’s carriers “are contingent upon US government approval.”
The deal comes at a time when the US seems to be ready to ramp up tensions with Iran, with US Donald Trump having been a harsh critic of the deal to lift sanctions off Iran. It also follows Boeing’s deal in December with Iran Air to sell $16.6 billion in aircraft to the carrier.
In its statement, Boeing cited the US Department of Commerce saying that an aerospace sale of this magnitude “creates or sustains approximately 18,000 jobs in the US.”
