Iran would seek return of “prepayments with interest” if the Boeing deal is thwarted by Pres Trump.

Iran would seek return of “prepayments with interest” if the Boeing deal is thwarted by Pres Trump. (IFP).

Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi told the domestic media that a deal which Iran has sealed with Boeing was “a commercial one” and could not be therefore cancelled through an order by the US president.

“This cannot happen,” Akhoundi emphasized in response to a question on whether Trump could order to kill the deal with Boeing. “This is a commercial deal.”

Boeing announced a $16.6 billion agreement with the national carrier Iran Air in December, saying the orders were on course to support nearly 100,000 new jobs in the United States.

The deal, however, has already run into opposition in the Republican-run Congress and Trump’s travel ban further makes it impossible for pilots, cabin staff and maintenance crews to enter the US for training.

US media earlier this week highlighted concerns that Iran’s deal with Boeing to buy 80 passenger planes had been thrown into doubt following President Trump’s executive order barring travel by Iranians to the US.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan has warned that Iran would seek return of “prepayments with interest” if the Boeing deal were thwarted by Trump’s administration.

The aircraft have to be delivered over 10 years, beginning in 2018. The agreement includes orders for 50 narrow-body 737 passenger jets and 30 wide-body 777 aircraft. Boeing has said the deal was reached under the conditions of a US government license issued in September.

Iran has also signed a deal with the European plane maker Airbus to purchase 100 planes.  It delivered the first plane in January with more deliveries coming up over the next few months.

Highly Likely U.S. company Boeing to Cancel Iran Deal: MP.

U.S. company Boeing Highly Likely to Cancel Iran Deal: MP. (IFP).

Iranian lawmaker, Mohammad-Javad Jamali Nobandegani, believes it is highly likely that Boeing would cancel its contract with Iran due to the newly passed travel ban against Iranians by US President Donald Trump, according to a Farsi report by Mizan Online News Agency.

Boeing’s pending $8 billion deal with Iran Air was already in serious doubt before President Trump’s executive order Friday barred travel to the US by nationals and travelers of seven Muslim countries, namely Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, for the next three months, The Seattle Times reported.

The report says the travel ban adds an immediate logistical barrier as pilots, cabin staff and maintenance crews will be unable to enter the US for training on how to fly and safely maintain Boeing airplanes.

Commenting on the issue, Mohammad Yahyavi, an Iranian-born former Boeing vice president who is now retired and living in Bellevue, said the ban leaves Boeing “in a very tough situation.”

“They have a sales commitment and a customer,” Yahyavi said. “On the other hand, they have government policies to obey. I know which will prevail. It’s the government.”

Expounding on the same issue, Jamali Nobandegani said any move or decision is expected from Trump during his terms in office.

Slamming Trump’s moves as unwise and baseless, he stressed, “Undoubtedly, at present, it is highly probable that Boeing would revoke its deal with Iran. This is a possibility which cannot be denied.”

The US is not willing to let Iran benefit from the advantages of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — signed between Iran and P5+1, Jamali Nobandegani said, adding, “We should not expect otherwise. The US hostility towards Iran has been proven to us.”

He stressed that Iran is required to take exigent measures to be prepared to foil the US’ plots in time, particularly those aimed at violating the JCPOA.

“At present, every move by the Trump administration hints at the US government’s disposition to revoke the nuclear deal. We are required to be ready with appropriate countermeasures.”