"Why Iran is desperate for U.S. passenger planes, but can't have them"

Last edited Tue Aug 30, 2016, 08:33 PM - Edit history (1)

Iran’s reliance on an aircraft that has been banned from Western airports for years — in part because of its engine noise, which one enthusiast described as “vacuum-cleaner-meets-rotary-phone-ringing” — showed how badly its commercial aviation sector was hobbled by U.S. sanctions.

Since the 1979 hostage crisis in Tehran, U.S. trade restrictions have barred the sale of American-made aircraft and parts to Iran. European sanctions instituted more recently to discourage Iran’s nuclear program further limited what Iran could purchase. Today, Iran operates one of the world’s oldest passenger fleets and has managed to keep flying mainly with aging Russian jets and some U.S.-made planes it purchased through third-party dealers in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia — probably in violation of U.S. laws.

When sanctions were eased in January after Iran certified that it had shelved its nuclear program, Tehran immediately opened talks with Boeing Co. and the European manufacturer Airbus to buy hundreds of aircraft. The deals — potentially worth tens of billions of dollars — represent the biggest commercial result of the nuclear accord.

But Republican opponents of the nuclear deal in the House of Representatives approved legislation in July to block the sale. In a letter to Boeing, two Republican lawmakers cited accusations that Iran’s commercial aviation sector has been used to funnel troops and weapons to terrorist organizations and dictators such as Syrian President Bashar Assad.

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-iran-airlines-snap-story.html?track=lat-pick

Sounds like no planes will be delivered before the election due to republican pressure though the delay violates the agreement.