Airbus receives 2nd license to sell planes to Iran

The United States announced on Tuesday that it had issued the second license to France’s Airbus to sell commercial planes to Iran Air. Before the license was issued on Monday, Airbus had U.S. permission for the sale of 17 jets to Iran, ISNA reported.

The U.S. Treasury says that the licenses it issues contain strict conditions to require planes be used solely for commercial passenger use, and not be sold or transferred to a sanctioned person or group.

Although Airbus is based in France, it must have U.S. approval to sell planes to Iran because at least 10 percent of the aircraft's components are American-made. Tehran provisionally ordered more than 100 jets each from Airbus and Boeing this year.

The Airbus spokesman said that taken together, the company's two Treasury licenses cover its entire 118-plane deal with Iran, implying that there is some overlap between the two licenses.

Some aircraft have been canceled because of delays in receiving authorizations, and officials say Iran no longer plans to take delivery of A380 superjumbos, so the final tally is likely to be closer to 100 aircraft.