TEHRAN- Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi said that the contract with the American air manufacturing company Boeing for aircraft purchase will be announced in few days, Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

Boeing is studying the passenger plane needs of Iranian airlines. "We're following the licensing process outlined by the U.S. government," the company told Trend on June 8.

"Accordingly, we have applied for and received a license to assess the current commercial passenger airplane needs of U.S. Government-approved Iranian airlines," Boeing's representative told Trend.

The license permits the company to engage approved Iranian airlines to determine their actual fleet requirements.

Iran signed a major deal worth $27 billion with Airbus in January to purchase 118 planes from the company. The country has announced its need for about 400 passenger planes in the next decade to modernize its ageing fleet.

Iranian airlines are not interested in buying any more Russian planes. Their performance was unsatisfactory when flown in the country's aviation market during the sanctions period.

HJ/MA