Awaiting the lifting of international sanctions, Iran is to buy 114 passenger planes from the European aircraft maker Airbus, according to its transport minister. Yahoo News reports: “We have taken the first step in agreeing with Airbus to buy 114 planes,” Abbas Akhoondi was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency. Airbus said it was not engaging in commercial talks with Iran until sanctions had been lifted. Sanctions were expected to be lifted in the wake of a recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear activities later on Saturday, as diplomats gathered in Vienna and Iran said it had freed four U.S. citizens from jail. “Although Iran clearly has a need for new aircraft, we must conform strictly to the law and, until all measures concerning the embargo are lifted, no commercial discussions can take place,” an Airbus spokesman said. A deal for 114 airplanes would be worth more than $10 billion at catalog prices, depending on the type of aircraft. Such a purchase would be in line with the predictions of Iranair, whose chairman told Reuters in an interview 18 months ago that, as soon as sanctions were eased, Iran would seek to obtain at least 100 wide-body and short-haul [...]