Boeing: US leaving Iran deal won’t hurt 737 production

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Wednesday that the Trump administration’s plan to abandon the Iran nuclear agreement will not hurt the company’s production of its 737 passenger jet aircraft.

Muilenburg made the comments at a luncheon for the Economic Club in Washington, according to Reuters. He added that none of the jets Boeing planned to sell to Iran Air under a now-revoked license were part of a backlog of orders the company plans to fill.

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Muilenburg’s remarks come hours after Boeing announced it would forfeit a $17 billion contract to deliver 80 aircraft to Iran Air following President Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran. Those sanctions were previously lifted in 2015 under the Obama-era deal.

“We will consult with the U.S. Government on next steps. As we have throughout this process, we’ll continue to follow the U.S. Government’s lead,” Boeing Vice President Gordon Johndroe said in a statement, according to The Washington Post.

The company has a separate 30-airplane deal with Iran’s Aseman Airlines, the Post reported. It’s unclear if that deal will be revoked as well.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin acknowledged the strength of the sanctions in a statement to the Post this week, adding that the measures affected several major industries.

“The Boeing and Airbus licenses will be revoked,” Mnuchin told reporters Tuesday. “The existing licenses will be revoked.”

“These sanctions do impact all the major industries,” Mnuchin added. “They are very strong sanctions. They worked last time. That is why Iran came to the table.”