Iran: It will review Airbus contract if sanctions are lifted

Iran’s civil aviation chief says the country will need to revise a major aircraft supply contract with Airbus in case the two parties return to the deal after a potential removal of US sanctions on Tehran.

Mohammad Mohammadi Bakhsh said on Wednesday that Airbus had violated its obligations under a 2016 deal with the IranAir which required the European aircraft manufacturer to supply spare parts for planes it had delivered to Iran before the US sanctions were imposed on the country in 2018.

Iran Air and Airbus signed a contract in December 2016 for supply of 100 jets to the Iranian flag carrier.

However, Airbus delivered only three of the planes to Iran before May 2018 when the US government cancelled the company’s permit for engaging in transactions with Tehran.

That came after Washington decided to pull out of an international deal on Iran’s nuclear program and imposed sanctions on the country.

Iranian authorities have criticized Airbus for its sheer compliance with American sanctions while insisting that the company should have committed to a huge commercial contract which could have been worth around $20 billion.

Mohammadi Bakhsh said Airbus had failed to honor its obligations under the deal with Iran, including those related to the supply of spare parts.

"Definitely, there should be some changes to the terms of the contract and with these changes we will uphold the contract and will continue to commit to it," Mohammadi Bakhsh was quoted as saying by the ILNA news agency.

The deal with Airbus was part of a larger plan by Iran to renovate its aging air fleet after the country was relieved from a previous round of sanctions in 2015.

SS