Iranian airline buys Merkel’s old plane

The German government was embarrassed this weekend following revelations that an Iranian airline Mahan Air bypassed trade sanctions to acquire an aeroplane formerly used by Chancellors Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schroeder and Angela Merkel, The Local reported.

On its website, Iranian airline Mahan Air ("The Spirit of Excellence") counts five Boeing 747s and 27 Airbus aircraft among its fleet. The fact that sanctions against the country make maintenance of the jets extraordinarily difficult, however, is not addressed.

Still, Mahan Air recently managed to enlarge its fleet through the purchase of an Airbus 310-304, delivered to Tehran from Kiev on Nov. 18.

Mahan Air’s US assets were frozen earlier this year after the US government accused the airline of helping Iran plan an attack on the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington. The US accused the airline of secretly transporting weapons and members of the Iranian Republican Guard.