The United States said Wednesday that it is allowing exports of spare parts and other equipment to Iran for its national airline, despite the standoff with Teheran over its nuclear program.

"We do not want to be in a position of threatening (Iran's) civil aviation," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a briefing.

"The United States is focused on the pressing humanitarian concerns that affect the Iranian people," McCormack said.

The General Electric Co. would provide the equipment to Iran, McCormack added.

The decision was based on a warning by the Federal Aviation Administration that "calls for the immediate overhaul" of some American-made turbines on Airbus jets operated by Iran Air," according to U.S. media reports.

The move came as the Bush administration has been seeking UN Security Council sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

Source: Xinhua