Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Following the melting ice between the West and Iran over its nuclear program, the foreign companies have started to restore their ties with Tehran.

American aerospace giant Boeing has sold aircraft-related goods to Iran Air in the third quarter of this year after a 35-year break in business with Iran, Press TV reported.

The Chicago-based aerospace and defense company said in its quarterly report on October 22 that it sold aircraft manuals, drawings, navigation charts and data to Iran Air to help improve the safety of Iran's civil aviation industry.

But the sold goods did not include spare parts for Iranian aircraft as promised by Washington following last year's interim nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

"During the third quarter of 2014, we sold aircraft manuals, drawings, and navigation charts and data to Iran Air," Boeing said.

This is the first time that the American company has sold safety items to Iran Air since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Earlier, Boeing voiced its willingness to start a technical process that could lead to a resumption of direct flights between Iran and the U.S.

The business deal brought Boeing $120,000 in revenue, the report added.

The sales came after the U.S. Treasury Department issued a license in April that allowed Boeing to provide "spare parts that are for safety purposes" to Iran for a "limited period of time."

Boeing said the plane parts were purchased "within the guidance from the U.S. government in connection with ongoing negotiations."

The two major U.S. aerospace manufacturers, Boeing and General Electric, applied in February for export licenses to sell airliner parts to Iran following the interim nuclear agreement.

Boeing, which is still banned from selling new aircraft to Iran, said it could sell more plane parts to Iran Air in the future.

"We may engage in additional sales pursuant to this license," it added.

The U.S. and Iran broke diplomatic relations in April 1980, after Iranian students seized the United States Embassy in Tehran holding 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. The two countries have had tense relations ever since, but have shown willingness to attend talks to help resolve regional issues, including security in Iraq. In spite of that, the two countries have avoided talks on bilateral issues for the last thirty years.

The U.S., particularly the Los Angeles are, is home to hundreds of thousands of Iranian expatriates.

Travelers between Iran and the U.S. currently have to change flights in a third country, usually Europe or the Gulf states. Although personal trips are generally exempted from U.S. sanctions, experts say there are a couple of major obstacles before an Iran-U.S. direct flight can resume.

The U.S. Treasury has barred Iranian airlines, including Iran Air, from landing or operating in the U.S. Furthermore, extraterritorial U.S. sanctions prevent European airports from providing Iranian carriers with fuel or accepting their money.

The United States and European nations have imposed severe economic sanctions on Iran in recent years aiming to pressure Tehran to dramatically reduce its nuclear program for a lengthy period of time to keep it from developing nuclear weapons.

However, Iran has denied the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.