Iran takes first action against US over interception of civil airliner in Syria
On Saturday, the Iranian authorities sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Security Council regarding the interception of a civil airliner by U.S. fighter jets in Syria last month.
Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Majd Takht Rawanji, said in the statement, as reported by the Tasnim Agency:
“An Iranian Airbus passenger plane belonging to the Mahan company that was heading from Tehran to Beirut on July 23 faced sudden interception and offensive behavior by two American F-15 fighters while it was flying. Iranian passengers were flying in the international corridor of the Syrian airspace.
He pointed out that “the Iranian pilot suddenly lowered the plane’s height in order to preserve the lives of the passengers and in response to the dangerous and offensive maneuver carried out by the two American fighters, which resulted in the injury of a number of passengers.”
The Iranian delegate noted, “It is absolutely clear that the behavior of the two American aircraft is a flagrant violation of the security and freedom of civil aviation authorized in the Chicago Treaty in 1944 and its annexes, as well as a flagrant violation of the Montreal Convention in 1971 in the field of preventing any illegal acts against civil aviation,” adding that it is the duty of the United Nations to reject this illegal act and hold Washington accountable.
The U.S. confirmed the interception of the Iranian airliner, but said they only used one F-15 and the incident was meant to protect their forces in the Al-Tanf area of Syria.
Source: Iran takes first action against US over interception of civil airliner in Syria