Iran Gives 5 European States Ultimatum over Plane Purchase Contracts

Deputy Road Minister for International Affairs, Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, said the European states must remain committed to their deals with Iran.

Under the contract signed between Iran and Airbus, the latter is required to prepare the ground for normal and safe flights in Iran; otherwise it has to announce an alternative company to fulfill the commitments, he noted in a Farsi interview with ISNA.

He went on saying the five European states of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain are involved in the deal signed between Iran and Airbus.

“Each of these states has a share in the Iranian market. So, any violation of the deal will inflict an economic blow on them. We first finalised our deal with Boeing to put the European states under pressure to take entering Iran’s market more seriously,” he said.

The Iranian official said at present there is a serious competition between the US and these European states to take more shares in the Iranian market. “We are taking advantage of this competition,” he noted.

On the ultimatum set for the European states, he said “about one and a half months ago, I summoned the ambassadors of the 5 European states in Tehran and officially warned them about Iran’s decision to revise the deal if they wouldn’t take their commitments seriously. “

Fakhrieh Kashan said he has urged them to put pressure on the US to issue the required certificates to sell airplanes and their parts to Iran.

“Over the past few months, some countries like South Korea, Italy, Denmark and India have expressed their readiness to sign official agreements with Iran in this field,” he said, adding the European states know it well that they will lose an opportunity if they don’t take their commitments seriously.

The deputy minister also said there are some reports saying Iranian companies are seeking to take the most advantages of the current conditions to finalise deals with non-European companies.

He also dismissed as baseless any report saying that despite his claims, the US President, Donald Trump, is not in a position to nullify the deal between Iran and Boeing.

“Any decision to nullify the deal stands in stark contradiction to Trump’s own campaign promises to create jobs for the Americans,” he said, according to a Farsi report by the Shargh daily newspaper.

He also added that Iran has encouraged Boeing to follow up its legal right with the US administration to pave the way for its own presence in Iran. “Boeing can sign new deals with Iranian airliners including Aseman and Qeshm Air to expand its presence in Iran,” he noted.