Boeing in Air Iran as a selling point

It should be permitted for Boeing to sell planes to Iran Air. Iran Air, the official flag carrier of the Islamic Republic, signed a contract with Airbus in January 2016 to buy 118 aircraft. In June of the same year, Boeing announced that it had secured an agreement under which it will sell 80 aircraft to Iran Air as well (Ottolenghi, 2017). The initial export permits for the jetliners were given to both businesses by the Department of Treasury in September. In January 2017, Airbus delivered the first aircraft to Iran Air after receiving an official export license two months later. Iran Air had been designated in June 2011 by the Treasury for the role the airline played in providing services and material support to the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). By itself, MODAFL is designated for proliferation activities (Ottolenghi, 2017). Additionally, treasury stated Iran Air had been using commercial flights to transport rockets or missile components to Syria and it has not stopped as evidence shows.

Despite this, on 16th January 2016, as part of the nuclear deal spearheaded by President Obama, Iran Air was removed from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN). The delisting was not because the airline has changed its behavior but after the country agreed to have its nuclear program controlled. This agreement was in exchange of allowing the Iran Air to update its passenger airline fleet with Western-made equipments and planes (Ottolenghi, 2017). Thus, Boeing was conducting a legitimate business until the Congress moved to block American financial institutions and the Treasury from assisting the aircraft sale. Having that Airbus had kicked off its aircraft sales to Iran Air, there is no merit to this turn of events. The Congress should allow Boeing to sell aircrafts to Iran Air because as it is now, they are attempting to refight the deal which took years to negotiate.

The nuclear deal signed has served a fundamental purpose of reducing the ability of Iran to develop nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency a body mandated to monitor the agreement states that Iran has over the last few months dismantled majority of the centrifuges which it used to enrich uranium a critical component in the development of nuclear weapons. To secure these concessions and, the multinational negotiating team which composed of the Obama administration and foreign ministers from China, Britain, France, Russia, Germany and the European Union agreed to loosen sanctions which had adversely affected the economy of Iran (Boston globe, 2016). In return, Iran would be guaranteed access to safer and newer passenger aircrafts and this is the opportunity that Boeing was eager to exploit. Opponents of the deal, argue that Iran would used the newly sophisticated aircrafts to enhance their personnel and war supplies to the Syrian government or Hezbollah. There is no doubt that the civilians in Iran are in need of safer and newer passenger aircrafts. The multination negotiating team understood that they would have to involve some dispensation (Boston globe, 2016). The United States with other world powers made a deal that was not scrutinised by the Congress. Therefore, Washington should abide to its words.

The basic problem in the congressional debate involving the Iran nuclear deal is that naysayers believe no form of concessions ought to be allowed (Boston globe, 2016). However, if this happens, the logic is that Iran will back down from the deal. The opponents of the Boeing deal sale are rejecting a critical aspect of diplomacy which is a certain measure of take and give. Important to note is that the sale of these aircrafts to Iran Air will create more jobs for the United States. Boeing estimates that approximately 100,000 United States jobs will be supported when this deal is implemented as the planes will be delivered over a period of 10 years (Snider & Dorell, 2016). Ironically, lifting the sanctions against Iran has allowed other companies across the World to trade with the different sectors. For instance, the world’s second largest energy company, Royal Dutch Shell, has acknowledged that plans are underway to have it start developing gas and oil in Iran. Thus, Boeing is not the only company that is looking to cash from the agreements made during the nuclear deal (Snider & Dorell, 2016). It is hypothetical and ethically wrong for the Congress and other opponents to shelve off parts of the agreements made which are specifically beneficial to Iran and expect the country to return the favour and stop all dealings with nuclear. Promotion of peace in the world will not be enhanced if countries can be defiant to the agreements they were not coerced to sign off. Thus, if Boeing is not allowed to sell the aircrafts the same should happen to all other manufacturers interested in cashing from the nuclear deal.

The aircraft sale should go forward not because of the thousands of jobs that United States will benefit from, but it would signal that the American government is true to its word and lets the reality, not wishful thinking or ideology guide its world policies.

References

Boston globe. (2016, July 14). Let Boeing sell jets to Iran Air. Retrieved March 29, 2017, from The Boston Globe : https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/07/14/let-boeing-sell-jets-iran-air/QpiS7Tu7IaCgDD2Np0BAVI/story.html

Ottolenghi, E. (2017, January 17). Should Boeing and Airbus sell planes to Iran Air? Retrieved March 29, 2017, from Foundation for Defense of Democracies: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/content/uploads/documents/11717_EO_Iran_Air_Memo.pdf

Snider, M., & Dorell, O. (2016, December 11). Boeing's $16B aircraft deal with Iran Air faces challenges. Retrieved March 29, 2017, from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/12/11/boeing-sell-80-jetliners-worth-166-billion-iran-air-aircraft-maker-said-sunday/95298168/