Iran’s Sanctions Lift, and Western ECAs Talk Aircraft Finance

(New York Times, New York, 26 January 2016) Aircraft offer a stark example of Iran’s need for foreign goods. The sanctions left Iran with one of the world’s oldest and most accident-prone fleets. Iran Air operates exclusively Western-built jets, consisting of around 40 planes with an average age of 25 years, including several Boeing 747s as well as models no longer in production, like the Airbus A300 and the Fokker 100. The orders, which are likely to be partly financed with loans from European export-credit agencies, could be announced as early as this week in Paris during a visit by President Rouhani, Mr. Akhoondi said.