Iranian officials have said the country�would�need between 400-500 new aircraft worth at least $20 billion to renovate its aging fleet and that initial negotiations have begun with the likes of Boeing and Airbus.
But Boeing Vice Chairman Ray Conner said, �We�re still waiting on getting the go-ahead from our government to still even have those kinds of discussions.�
The US 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 on the Islamic Republic.
For the moment, the US government is sticking�to its old hardline policy which has led to a number of aviation mishaps and the deaths of hundreds of Iranians.
In May, US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two aviation companies for selling second-hand Airbus aircraft to Iran�s second carrier, Mahan Air.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"]
An Iran Air Boeing 747 is shown taxiing at Frankfurt Airport on August 21, 1999.[/caption]Meanwhile, the flag carrier�Iran Air�is cooling its heels to replace its fleet of Boeing planes bought before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 when the Iranian shah was a close ally of the United States.
�We have a long history with Iran. We had a big presence there for a number of years,� Conner, also president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airlines, told reporters on a visit to the aircraft�s manufacturer�s offices in Renton, Washington.
Another official said he believed 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 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 was apparently referring to Airbus.
Mohammad Khodakarami, the caretaker director of Iran�s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), said last month the country could buy 80-90 planes per year from the two aviation manufacturers when�all hurdles on the way of normal trade were removed.
By Press TV
