Iran Lashes Out at US for Pressuring Argentina to Detain Plane

Iran has urged Argentina not to give in to the pressure of the US over the case of the stolen Venezuelan plane, and has requested the liberation of the Iranian crew.

“We hope that the Argentine authorities don’t cave in to the pressure from the US and the Zionist regime, and that they immediately facilitate the departure of the Iranian citizens from their country,” said Naser Kanani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, during a press conference.

The Argentinian authorities ordered the confiscation of the passports of the crew of the ship, which included four Iranians and 13 Venezuelans, thus keeping them from leaving the country, after the Venezuelan Boeing 747 on which they were flying was detained this past June 6 due to baseless charges of links to “international terrorism.”

On August 11, an Argentinian judged made the theft of the EMTRASUR plane official by accepting a request made by the US to detain the plane, which had previously been the property of the Iranian company Mahan Air, which is sanctioned by Washington. However, the court still hasn’t decided what to do with the crew.

“The five Iranian members of the crew have been detained in Argentina for more than 80 days despite the fact that they have not committed any crime,” noted Kanani. In addition, he requested that Argentina, as president of the UN Human Rights Council (CDHNU), do its job and free the Iranian citizens.

Regarding the plane itself, Kanani noted that “it doesn’t have anything to do with Iran in terms of property,” because it was sold to Venezuela some time ago.

He added that the documents which attest to the sale of the plane to Venezuela “have been kept according to international law and procedure, including the International Civil Aviation Organization,” rendering “irrelevant” the claims of the US that the transfer of the property to Venezuela was “illegal.”

(HispanTV) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/KW/SL