Decades of sanctions have left Iran with one of the
oldest fleets in the world, in desperate need of major fleet
renewal. Following the recent easing of sanctions this process
should now start, but because the sanctions regime is not yet fully
lifted a myriad of issues remain that require careful review when
dealing with Iran.
On 16 January 2016 the International Atomic Energy Association
(IAEA) issued a report confirming that Iran had completed the
necessary preparatory steps (i.e. reduction in stockpiles of
low-enriched uranium) to start the implementation of the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is a plan for the
reduction of Iran's nuclear program agreed by Iran, China,
France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the US and the UK reached
in Vienna in July 2015. This triggered much awaited sanctions
relief from the EU and the US and a major move towards the end of a
sanctions regime that commenced in 1979 and has been in place in
relation to Iranian
