| Press Statement Sean McCormack, Spokesman Washington, DC October 10, 2006 Approval of License Request for Civilian Aircraft Spare Parts to Iran AirOn Friday, September 29, 2006, the Departments of State and Commerce informed Congress of its intent to recommend that the Department of Treasury issue a license to a U.S. company to permit the exportation of spare and replacement parts, components and technical data for the repair and overhaul of a limited number of U.S. manufacture civil aero turbine engines on Airbus aircraft operated by Iran Air. The Department’s recommendation is based on an airworthiness warning issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that calls for the immediate overhaul of these engines. As conditions for the license approval, all repairs will be performed in third countries and no exports will go directly to Iran.
We believe the concerns associated with the FAA warning and the air safety threat posed by the operation of these airplanes, absent these vital repairs, are sufficient grounds to recommend these immediate actions. Our recommendation is consistent with the U.S. Government’s commitment to promote international safety-of-flight standards and ensure the safety of all aviation passengers, including the citizens of Iran. Through its support for terrorism and pursuit of a nuclear weapons program in defiance of its international obligations, the Iranian regime continues to subordinate the Iranian people’s interests to its own extremist agenda. The United States is focused on the pressing humanitarian concerns that affect the Iranian people. Therefore, despite our grave concerns regarding the Iranian regime’s activities, we believe this decision is consistent with our commitment to support the Iranian people and to use U.S sanctions to target the regime, not the Iranian people. 2006/ 909 |
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