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On the one hand, as the Times points out, Obama "has warned that Iran is not open for business." Due to complicated trade rules, the Commerce Department would have to grant clearance for the private jet's General Electric engine to touch Iranian ground.
But then again, there are still "a few United States and European business activities" currently permitted.
Then there's the question of who owns the plane. It's held by a trust whose investors remain anonymous, though the tail number was recorded in Zurich around the time of the World Economic Forum and spotted in Ghana last October.Even some former federal officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the very presence of an American-flagged aircraft parked in broad daylight suggested its flight had been approved as part of a legitimate business trip. What is more, they said, the easily identifiable plane was not likely to be part of a covert diplomatic mission.
A Bank of Utah executive said his bank, which serves as the trustee for the plane's investors, has no idea why the aircraft was in Iran. The Bank of Utah is listed as a trustee for more than 1,000 planes, the most of any bank in the country. The executive says the bank will resign should they find evidence of illegal activity.
The media has said next to nothing about the ship stopped en route to Iran with parts for Iran's aging Grumman F-4 Phantom jets. These were sent to Iran by an Israeli arms dealer, and the news broke almost simultaneously with Netanyahu's noisy public relations stunt regarding the intercepted ship load of missiles bound for Gaza... as if there was any remote possibility of those missiles actually getting into Gaza.
In light of the above, a western registered jet on the tarmac in Iran might not be so mysterious. The arms business thrives in political turmoil.