“US illegally occupies territory of another State and then harasses a scheduled civil airliner—endangering innocent civilian passengers—ostensibly to protect its occupation forces,” said Zarif, referring to Mahan Air’s Flight 1152 with 163 passengers and crew on board which was harassed by two American warplanes on Thursday.
“Audacity to compound lawlessness upon lawlessness,” he said, adding, “These outlaws must be stopped before disaster.”
Two US warplanes put the lives of tens of Iranian and Lebanese civilians in danger after conducting dangerous maneuvering near Beirut-bound Mahan Air’s Flight 1152 on Syria’s air on Thursday night. The airliner’s pilot reportedly reduces flight altitude to avoid colliding with the warplanes which has led to several injuries among passengers.
Earlier, Morteza Dehghan, deputy head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said that “The flight was being conducted according to international regulations in a pre-determined commercial route and the behavior of US aircraft was dangerous; we have reflected this issue to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and asked the body to address the dangerous actions of Americans in the region.”
The official went on to say that the Beirut-bound flight had obtained all the required licenses and was under the supervision of Syria’s aviation organization when it receives a TCAS alert indicating that two aircraft are approaching the plane in a dangerous manner. The pilot abruptly reduces flight altitude to avoid a collision which leads to injuries in some passengers and crew on board.
MAH/