Aviation sources said the U.S. Treasury was expected within “days” to begin unblocking Boeing’s deal to sell or lease over 100 jets.
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US approval could provide welcome relief for the struggling A380 super jumbo, which cost Airbus $25 billion to develop. The Air Force is already looking at a follow on to Boeing’s KC-46 tanker that could feature high tech advances like radar-absorbing material and a laser.
The next administration, however, may change that equation for Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing Co., which has its own $25-billion deal on the line with Iran that would be the biggest for an American company since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover.
Boeing has yet to receive US government approval, but told CNNMoney it expected it soon.
Airbus confirmed receipt of license for an initial sale of 17 planes, that formed a larger deal that involving a total of 118 planes.
Earlier this year, Airbus and its United States rival Boeing each signed deals to supply over 100 jets to flag carrier IranAir to modernise and expand the country’s elderly fleet, held together by smuggled or improvised parts after years of sanctions, Reuters reported. However, he also said Iran would cut the number of Airbus planes it would buy to 112, state TV reported.
With the sales set to go ahead, Iran a country of 80 million, would be able to start rebuilding its aging fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes and other secondhand aircraft acquired clandestinely from other countries.
The deal is estimated to be worth roughly US$25 billion.
The aerospace group said it remained in talks with Iran Air on a final sales agreement after the two sides reached a preliminary deal in June.
The US Treasury spokeswoman Dawn Selak acknowledged her agency granted the first licences to Airbus and Boeing.
“These licenses contain strict conditions to ensure that the planes will be used exclusively for commercial passenger use and can not be resold or transferred to a designated entity”, the Treasury spokesperson said.
Iran’s United Nations mission did not respond to a request for comment.
The deal was made possible because an embargo was lifted after an global agreement on Iran’s nuclear activities, but U.S. approval was needed because the aircraft include parts made in the US.
The approval clears the way for the two plane manufacturers to access one of the last untapped aviation markets in the world.
But complex questions remain over the financing of deals between Iran and Western planemakers that could still obstruct deliveries of numerous planes, in what is seen as a test case for Western trade and investment following last year’s nuclear accord.
Most Iranian planes were purchased before the Islamic Revolution. The country has 250 commercial planes, but as of June only 162 were flying because the rest needed new parts.
Iran Air, whose website lists 43 aircraft in its fleet, says it has direct flights to over 30 worldwide destinations, including London.
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The deals are also likely to “test conservative opposition” to the nuclear agreement in both the USA and Iran, as Reuters reported. The US planemaker may also need to leave wiggle room to back out of any potential orders if the next US president decides to reinstate sanctions.
