A Mahan Air Airbus A310 jetliner with over 150 people onboard was forced to take evasive maneuvers over Syria on Thursday after being intercepted by a pair of US F-15 jets, with the incident leaving at least 12 passengers with injuries of varying severity. Tehran submitted a complaint the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Friday.
Iran considers US fighter jets' maneuvers near its civilian airliner on Thursday to have been an “act of terror,” and has the right to pursue the matter legally, Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami has announced.
“Unfortunately, 12 people, including the flight's crew and passengers, have been hurt in this terrorist act,” Eslami added.
The minister stressed that Iran's representative to the ICAO will follow up on Iran's complaint, and added that Tehran expects the US's “terrorist move” to be condemned by the organization. He also called on Lebanon and Syria to file their own separate complaints against the US in the ICAO in relation to Thursday's incident.
Iran is also expected to submit a letter of protest to the United Nations Security Council and to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Collision Alert
Also Friday, Mahan Air announced that its plane was flying in full compliance of international air navigation rules when Thursday's incident took place, and added that its commercial aircraft have been flying the same Tehran-Beirut for over a…
