An Unwarranted and Unreported Concession to Iran

Statement

Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) released the following statement concerning aspects of the sanctions relief contained in the Geneva agreement between the P5+1 group of countries and Iran regarding Iran's nuclear program.

"The preliminary agreement concerning Iran's nuclear program includes sanctions relief for Iran's state airline, Iran Air, allowing the repair of its aging fleet of jets. This unwarranted concession goes unmentioned in most descriptions of the Agreement.

"In the past, I have opposed licensing parts and services needed to repair Iran's American-made planes because they have been used to support some of Iran's worst activities.
"Iran Air was designated by the Treasury Department in June 2011 for providing support to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. In September 2012, the Treasury Department identified Iran Air and other "civilian' air carriers as key parts of Syria's military procurement network.
"Iran Air planes have been used to ferry lethal aid, IRGC thugs, and other assistance for Syria's Bashar Assad, all to be used against opponents of the regime, resulting in the deaths of innocent civilians and helping to prolong the civil war. Iran Air is a key part of the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis, providing the Lebanese terrorist organization military equipment from Iran via Syria.
"A May 2011 UN report noted that Iran Air jets have been used to ship missile parts and other illicit trade between North Korea and Iran. Iran's "civilian" airlines have even been used in successful missions to assassinate Iranian dissidents living abroad. In one particularly infamous incident from the early 1990s, Iranian agents killed a dissident in Geneva, then escaped from Swiss authorities on a waiting Iran Air 747.
"Iran should ground its unsafe planes until they are properly repaired, which requires American parts and service. American corporations should not repair these until a final deal is reached. America should exploit some of the vagaries in the agreement's language and prevent Boeing from repairing Iranian aircraft until we have a final deal. Otherwise we will have made a permanent irreversible concession in a "temporary" agreement.

Source