Iran Hopes Boeing Deal Speeds Up Airbus Contract

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he hopes that Tehran's deal with Boeing will pave the way for completing another contract with Airbus.

The tentative agreement marks Boeing's first sale of aircraft to Iran since the country's Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The agreement helps Boeing catch up with a USD$27 billion, 118-plane order Iran placed with Airbus in January.

Both deals are conditional on receiving export licenses from the US Treasury due to significant US technology in all modern airliners, whether built by Boeing or Airbus.

"We thought to speed up our ties with Airbus, we should make a deal with Boeing first. Now we feel the situation is ripe for both," said Foreign Minister Zarif in a meeting with the foreign affairs commission of the French Senate in Paris, according to Iran's ILNA news agency.

An Iranian official told Reuters news agency that the provisional deal between Iran and Boeing covers 109 aircraft, including 737s, 747s and 777s.