TEHRAN, Iran�� Soon after the US Treasury Department granted licenses to Boeing and Airbus to sell passenger planes to Iran, Tehran welcomed the move as a fulfillment of American obligations under the nuclear deal. On Sept. 24, three days after the licenses were issued, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif confirmed that Iran had received the green light to purchase 80 out of the 88 aircraft it had sought to buy from Boeing, adding, �Out of 118 Airbus jetliners, the license for selling 17 has been issued.�

Airbus and Boeing had previously agreed to sell or lease more than 200 passenger planes to Iran, which has sought to revamp its aging air fleet after the signing of the July 14, 2015, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

After the formal Jan. 16 Implementation Day of the nuclear deal, the US Treasury�s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued documents declaring that all US institutions wishing to sell or lease aircraft, spare parts or maintenance and safety services to Iran could apply for licenses on a case-by-case basis. OFAC guidelines further stipulated that non-US institutions also need licenses for selling and leasing aircraft to Iran if�more than 10% of the components of their products are American made.

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This article was written by Saheb Sadeghi for Al-Monitor on Oct. 19, 2016. Saheb Sadeghi, a columnist and political analyst, is currently the managing director of the Iranian magazine Diplomat, a monthly publication that specializes in foreign policy issues, and director of economic service at the newspaper Iran Daily.