The House of Representatives on Thursday night passed two
measures that would prevent Boeing from completing a planned sale and lease of
109 aircraft to state-owned Iran Air.
That deal, announced last month, was made possible by the
lifting of some U.S. sanctions against Iran following the 2015 nuclear deal
reached between Iran, the U.S. and five other countries. It would be worth up
to $25 billion.
The measures that would block the sale were both included as
amendments to the far broader House financial services appropriations bill,
which passed 239-185 Thursday night on a largely party line vote.
Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) introduced the two amendments,
each of which won inclusion into the bill on simple voice votes in front of a
mostly empty House chamber. One of the measures would prohibit the Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from authorizing the license necessary to allow
Boeing or other companies to sell planes to Iran. The other amendment would
prevent U.S. financial institutions from making loans to Iran for the purchase
of aircraft that could be used for military purposes.
Iran Air has said it will put the Boeing aircraft to use for
commercial service. But speaking on the House floor Thursday evening, Roskam
said that Iran could ultimately use the planes to transport military cargo. He
said that the Iranian air force on Wednesday flew a Boeing 747 from Iran to
Damascus.
“Iran systemically uses commercial aircraft to spread death
destruction and mayhem,” Roskam said.
The measures are a longshot to become law, as any bill
including them would require sign-off from President Obama, who championed the
Iran nuclear deal.