U.S. grants Boeing license to export spare parts to Iran

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Treasury has granted plane manufacturer Boeing a license to export certain spare commercial parts to Iran, a company spokesman says, according to BBC News.

Boeing has had no public dealings with Tehran since 1979.

In a statement, the U.S. company said the licence had been granted for the safety of flight.

The step is being seen as part of a temporary agreement to ease sanctions on Tehran that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reached with Iran last year. Under the deal brokered in November, Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear activities for six months in exchange for sanctions relief from nations including Britain, China and the U.S..

U.S. company General Electric said late on Friday it had received U.S. permission to overhaul 18 engines sold to Iran in the late 1970s. That work would be carried out at GE facilities or at German firm MTU Aero Engines, it said.

Iran Air is still flying passenger planes bought before the 1979 hostage crisis, during which 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran for 444 days.

Iran has reportedly argued that sanctions imposed after the hostage ordeal have prevented Tehran from upgrading its plane fleet and reduced the safety of its aircraft. There have been more than 200 accidents involving Iranian planes in the past 25 years, leading to more than 2,000 deaths, reports say.

Boeing has said the licence covers only components required to ensure ongoing safe flight operations of planes it sold before Iran's revolution in 1979.

No discussions are to be allowed over the sale of new aircraft when and if sanctions are completely lifted. If a permanent deal is agreed, it is thought likely that Iran would require the purchase of hundreds of new aircraft.