Rouhani: Airbus was ready to invest so that we could buy airplanes
Hassan Rouhani: The nuclear deal wasn’t just about signing something and ending it. We wanted to bring in investment through the nuclear deal.
I discussed three issues with the CEO of Airbus. I said we will buy 100 airplanes from you, but we want to become a parts manufacturer for Airbus. We want our engineers to be involved in designing new airplanes. Airbus should finance the purchase of its airplanes for us.
Airbus was ready to invest so that we could buy airplanes, but then issues started domestically. Someone said we need buses, not airplanes. Another said they bought paper airplanes. In parliament, they said they wouldn’t give the government a budget to buy airplanes. I said we don’t want any budget from you at all; the new airplanes will pay for themselves.