Iran lodges protest with ICAO over US aggression on passenger plane

Tehran, July 24, IRNA - Iran lodged protest with International Civil Aviation Organization over the US aggression on Iranian passenger plane, calling for urgent action, Iran's Civil Aviation Organization said on Friday. Iran Civil Aviation Organization said in the wake of US jet fighters’ aggression against Mahan Air flight 1152 which happened in international corridors in Syrian sky, some of the passengers were injured due to the pilot’s reaction to prevent accident. After being certain about the plane’s safety, decisions have been made with regard to returning passengers to Tehran from Beirut. Based on Annex 13 to Chicago Convention, the US military jets breached the international convention concerning civil aviation. Iran Civil Aviation Organization called on the Syrian Government to hold inquiry into the US aggression promptly and precisely. Iranian technical team has also started probe into the incident since plane’s arrival at Imam Khomeini International Air Port. Iran Civil Aviation Organization terms US aggression against Iranian passenger plane as example of clear violation of International Law concerning civil aviation. Mahan Air passenger plane was on route to Beirut, Lebanon when it was threatened by two military jets. The pilot of the Iranian plane says when he was talking to the pilots of the fighter jets to ask them to keep distance they had said that they were American. Although the Iranian plane finally landed in Beirut Airport, some of its passengers were immediately taken to hospital. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that investigations are underway about an incident on Thursday night in which two American jets threatened an Iranian passenger plane in the Syrian air. Mousavi said that Iran’s Permanent ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-e Ravanchi has talked with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressing that in case any incident that may occur to the Iranian plane on its way back home, the United States of America would be held responsible.