Tehran, Iran, June 8
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi said Tehran would use all its legal capacities and contractual obligations to protest against Boeing’s unilateral decision to cancel its deal with the Islamic Republic.
The government will use its entire legal and contractual capacities to defend the Iranian nation’s rights, Abbas Akhoundi told ILNA news agency on June 8 after Boeing said it would not deliver aircraft to Iran due to the threat of the US sanctions.
He called on the Iranian people not to get disappointed, saying, “We have passed through more difficult days”.
Noting that the US cannot continue to exert its pressure on countries, Akhoundi urged the international community to stand up to Washington’s language of bully and threat.
We should not get emotional, he stressed, adding that Iran can use its legal capacities under any circumstances to find solutions.
On Friday, an Iranian lawmaker said Tehran will soon file a complaint with international tribunals against Boeing.
It came after a Boeing spokesman on Wednesday said, "We have not delivered any aircraft to Iran, and given we no longer have a license to sell to Iran at this time, we will not be delivering any aircraft”.
"We did not factor the Iran orders into our order backlog either”.
Boeing in December 2016 announced an agreement to sell 80 aircraft valued at $16.6 billion to Iran Air. Boeing also announced a contract in April 2017 to sell Iran Aseman Airlines 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for $3 billion, with purchase rights for another 30 aircraft.
In a speech from the White House on May 8, Trump accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and seeking nukes before announcing the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.
The new US sanctions will take six months to kick in, but a number of European companies have already halted their businesses in Iran despite verbal pledges by their governments to protect them against any fallout.