Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Boeing voiced willingness to resume the cooperation with the Islamic Republic following the removal of sanctions.

The company sees a good opportunity for business in Iran, citing its “long history” in the country and saying it was awaiting a good-ahead from the U.S. government to enter in commercial talks with Iranian airlines.

Iranian officials earlier said the county will need 400-500 civilian aircraft worth at least $20 billion in the next decade to renovate its aging fleet which has suffered under years of U.S. and European sanctions.

“We’re still waiting on getting the go-ahead from our government to still even have those kinds of discussions,” Boeing Vice Chairman Ray Conner said, Press TV reported.

The U.S. Treasury Department has granted a temporary permit to sell aircraft parts to Iran’s commercial airlines under an interim nuclear deal dating back to November 2013.

For full-fledged business, however, a landmark nuclear accord reached in July has to be implemented which would entail the removal of all sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

“We have a long history with Iran. We had a big presence there for several years,” Conner, also president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airlines said.

Another official said he believes the Iranian carriers would go for Boeing aircraft when the purchase window opened because of the manufacturer’s “long-standing relationship with Iran as a customer”.

“We believe there will be a good opportunity for us there and we believe there will be a good opportunity for our competitors, and I think they will be looking at buying from both of us,” said Marty Bentrott, Boeing’s vice president for sales in Middle East, Russia and Central Asia.

The U.S.-led sanctions on aircraft and spare parts exports to Iran have left Iranian airlines saddled with not only some of the oldest fleets in the Middle East, but also in the world.

Iran's four largest carriers – Iran Air, Aseman Airlines, Mahan Air and Iran Air Tours – all have average fleet ages above 22 years, according to Iranian media outlets.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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