American F-15 warplanes involved in the harassment of an Iranian passenger plane approaching the Beirut airport were not ‘on a routine air mission,’ according to a report that dismissed a claim otherwise made by a US military official.
The Nournews agency on Friday cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter that contrary to the remarks made by CENTCOM’s spokesman, Bill Urban, the US jets “intercepted the Iranian plane after violating Lebanon’s airspace” and were not on “a routine air mission” when they flew close to the Mahan Air plane.
The source added that the F-15s harassed the Iranian plane in Lebanon’s sky when it was dropping its altitude to approach the Beirut airport.
On Thursday night, US warplanes operating illegally in Syria conducted some “dangerous” maneuvering close to the Mahan Air flight in an act of air piracy.
The American aircraft ignored several warnings by the Iranian pilot about the urgency to observe the distance but they continued the maneuver, the source said.
The Mahan Air Flight 1152 had taken off from Tehran and was en route to the Lebanese capital when the incident happened.
CENTCOM claimed that a single F-15 had made a “visual inspection” of the Iranian airliner “in accordance with international standards… to ensure the safety of coalition personnel” at the military base in Syria’s al-Tanf.
It added that the F-15 conducted “a standard visual inspection of a Mahan Air passenger airliner at a safe distance of approximately 1,000 meters.”
Meanwhile, the adviser to Iran’s parliament speaker on international affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on Friday that severe consequences await the US military’s act of provocation.
“The harassment of an Iranian passenger plane by American fighter jets once again proved that the presence of foreigners in the region is a serious threat to peace and security,” he said in a post on his Twitter account.
He added that likewise the Zionists cannot carry out a provocative act and “immediately say that we were not involved.”
Hezbollah Slams US Aggression on Iranian Civilian Airliner in Syrian Airspace
Translated by Staff, Hezbollah Media Relations
https://www.english.alahednews.com.lb/54338/385Hezbollah issued the following statement:
Hezbollah strongly condemns the act of aggression by American fighter jets that threatened and terrorized an Iranian civilian airliner in Syrian airspace. We consider this an act of terrorism and a very dangerous matter that could have had unforeseen regional repercussions.
The two American warplanes intercepting a civilian aircraft that was also carrying Lebanese nationals is a maneuver that demands a decisive international stance against the US, bearing in mind that the Americans are an occupying force on Syrian territory and in its airspace.
Hezbollah congratulates all the passengers on board, especially the Lebanese citizens, on their safe arrival. It expresses its solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic against the abhorrent American behavior.
River to Sea
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