[ti:Iran Air Signs $16 Billion Plane Deal with Boeing]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.12]Iran's main air travel company Iran Air
[00:04.84]has signed an agreement with American manufacturer Boeing
[00:10.12]to buy 80 passenger airplanes.
[00:14.08]The two companies announced the $16.6 billion deal Sunday
[00:21.52]after a signing ceremony in Iran's capital,Tehran.
[00:26.84]The agreement calls for Boeing to provide 50 737 planes
[00:33.80]and 30 777 aircraft to Iran Air over the next 10 years.
[00:42.04]Boeing said the first planes would start arriving in 2018.
[00:48.52]It is the biggest agreement to be signed between an Iranian
[00:53.80]and American company since Iran's revolution in 1979.
[01:00.56]Iran had previously been barred from buying planes from U.S.-based Boeing
[01:08.24]because of economic sanctions against the country.
[01:13.28]The U.S. government approved the deal in September.
[01:18.56]The approval was the result of an international nuclear agreement
[01:23.96]signed by Iran and six world powers in July 2015.
[01:31.28]The agreement eased restrictions on Iran
[01:34.92]in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear program.
[01:40.92]The U.S. House of Representatives voted last month
[01:45.16]to block aircraft sales to Iran possibly affecting the Boeing deal.
[01:52.84]The measure must still pass the Senate.
[01:56.96]U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will veto the bill
[02:02.64]if it reaches his desk before he leaves office on January 20.
[02:09.60]Boeing said in a statement the deal would "support tens of thousands of U.S. jobs"
[02:17.36]directly related to production of the planes.
[02:21.96]Iran's transport minister said
[02:25.76]the agreement represented a "historic" day for Iran.
[02:31.56]He added that the deal would create 8,000 jobs in Iran.
[02:39.32]The official indirectly noted the incoming administration
[02:44.52]of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
[02:48.64]"We hope that despite changes in the U.S. administration,
[02:54.00]the country will remain loyal to its commitments," he said.
[02:59.40]During his campaign for president,
[03:03.00]Trump strongly criticized the nuclear agreement.
[03:07.88]He called it a "disaster" and the "worst deal ever negotiated."
[03:15.12]Trump also threatened to end the deal if elected president.
[03:20.48]The president-elect recently criticized Boeing
[03:24.72]for "out of control" costs related to another contract.
[03:31.32]Boeing has an agreement to build new airplanes for the president,
[03:36.36]known as Air Force One.
[03:39.72]"Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents,
[03:47.04]but costs are out of control,
[03:50.76]more than $4 billion. Cancel order!" Trump tweeted.
[03:57.36]The U.S. Air Force has agreed with Boeing to build
[04:03.68]two new Air Force One planes expected to go into service by 2024.
[04:12.12]The deal for the Air Force One contract is expected to cost about $3 billion,
[04:20.96]but costs have reportedly been rising.
[04:25.24]In response to Trump, Boeing said in a statement
[04:29.90]that it was currently under contract
[04:32.76]with the Air Force for $170 million for the project's first phase.
[04:41.56]It said that amount would be spent
[04:44.64]"to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft."
[04:52.24]"We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force
[04:56.60]on subsequent phases of the program allowing us
[05:01.00]to deliver the best planes for the president
[05:04.40]at the best value for the American taxpayer," the statement said.
[05:11.08]Boeing is not the only defense company that Trump has criticized.
[05:17.92]On Monday, the president-elect said the "cost is out of control"
[05:23.92]on the F-35 fighter jet program of aerospace company Lockheed Martin.
[05:32.20]The $400 billion program has been called the most costly
[05:38.96]in the history of the U.S. Defense Department.
[05:43.40]I'm Anne Ball.
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