The U.S. government granted Airbus a license to sell 17 airplanes to Iran, a landmark deal announced by the European aircraft company Wednesday. The initial agreement in January, estimated to be worth nearly $25 million, was made possible by last year's nuclear agreement, which lifted sanctions on Iran on the condition it curb its atomic program. Iran Air agreed to buy several different types of planes, including the single-aisle A320 and the double-decker A380, according to the January deal. Iran badly needs the planes to upgrade its fleet of passenger jets, which were subject to years of sanctions and suffered from a lack of maintenance. The agreement is being closely watched by Chicago-based Boeing Co., which also has a deal with Iran that rides on hopes that Tehran would stop its past practice of using the airline's planes to ferry fighters and weapons across the Middle East.