US plane manufacturer Boeing has tentatively agreed to sell jetliners to Iran Air on 21 June, confirming an announcement made by the Irani government a week earlier.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) that has been signed between Boeing and Iran Air states the ”airline’s intent to purchase Boeing commercial passenger planes,” according to news agency Reuters.

While Boeing has declined to disclose the number of aircraft it would eventually sell to Iran Air, a spokesperson with Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation has said that the deal was for 100 Boeing aircraft.

The contract is estimated to cost between $11bn and $25bn at list price, depending on the mix of aircraft models Iran Air plans to acquire. It is understood that the contract could include a combination of the single-aisle 737s as well as the twin-aisle 777 or 787 Dreamliner.

The US government gave Boeing clearance to begin commercial discussions with several Iranian airlines in April. However, this clearance has yet to allow Boeing to either start or complete commercial transactions with Iranian airlines.

France’s Airbus signed a deal to sell 118 passenger aircraft to the Islamic Republic in January, a transaction that is estimated to fetch $27bn based on list price.

The sale was understood to be partly funded by Italy’s Sace. The Islamic Republic’s frozen assets within the EU banking systems have been used as collateral for the loan.

The actual delivery of the Airbus aircraft to Iran is still contingent upon US approval, since some Airbus components are manufactured in the US.