As the deadline draws closer for the Trump administration to decide whether or not to certify Iranian compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and another decision on sanctions, U.S. aerospace giant Boeing will be watching with extreme interest. The outcome has the potential to scuttle a pair of multibillion dollar deals with Iran Air and Iran Aseman Airlines for the purchase of 110 airplanes that, according to Boeing, would support as many as 118,000 jobs in the U.S. Critics say Iran continues to use commercial jets to facilitate illicit arms trafficking, a behavior that earned the Iranian regime sanctions in 2011.
Given what is riding on the deals for the company and in light of recent anti-regime protests throughout Iran, THE WEEKLY STANDARD asked Boeing if the company simply defers to the US government’s assessment of the appropriateness of such leases and sales (especially to a country considered a state sponsor of terrorism) or does Boeing make an independent assessment of whether business with a particular customer might or might not be appropriate. A spokesman for Boeing replied, “Throughout this process, we have followed the U.S. government’s lead in all our dealings with approved Iranian airlines and we will continue to do so.”
Another U.S. aerospace firm, Lockheed Martin, has a similar stated public position, but has reached the opposite conclusion from Boeing. Lockheed issued a very brief statement in June 2016: “Consistent with U.S. Government policy, Lockheed Martin is not pursuing business opportunities in Iran.” Decisions by the Obama administration to reestablish the eligibility of Iran Air to do business with US companies and to grant licenses to Boeing and Europe’s Airbus for deals with Iran did not change Lockheed’s current policy.
Although Boeing asserts that the company “follow[s] the U.S. government’s lead” regarding business with Iran, that does not mean that Boeing removes itself from the legislative process in Congress when potential clients come under scrutiny by lawmakers. Reports on lobbying activities filed by Boeing (via Open Secrets) indicate that the company paid lobbyists for activity on at least two recent bills involving Iran: S.722 Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017 and HR 5711, the No U.S. Financing for Iran Act. The latter bill was passed by the House in 2016 but went no further. After working with the House, the Senate bill was rolled into the law signed by President Trump in August 2017, Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which included actions against North Korea and Russia as well as Iran.
When asked about its interest and positions on the legislation, the Boeing spokesman told TWS that its involvement was only informational in nature: “All of our interactions with Members of Congress on both pieces of legislation have been to provide them with information on our commercial aircraft sales to customers in the two countries.”
In May 2017, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Congress that the licenses for the sale of the aircraft to Iran were being reviewed, but no decision has been forthcoming since. The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for an update on the review process.
President Trump’s relationship with Boeing since his election has been decidedly mixed. Before he was even inaugurated (Boeing was a corporate sponsor for the inauguration), Trump called out Boeing on Twitter for “out of control” costs on the Air Force One makeover underway by the company, and thundered “Cancel order!” But a phone call and a trip to Mar-a-lago by Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg saved the deal and smoothed things over. Then, less than a month after being sworn in to office, the president crossed paths with CEO Muilenburg again when he visited Boeing’s South Carolina plant to talk jobs. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is produced at the plant, but this past summer, Boeing announced “fewer than 200” layoffs were taking place due to slower than expected sales.
