Argentina seizes Iranian plane on suspicion of spying
Buenos Aires: Argentina seizes Venezuelan cargo plane serving Iran on suspicion of spying.
Venezuela’s Boeing 767 cargo plane, which arrived in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on June 8, was intercepted by airport security forces, according to the International News Agency.
The Argentine government has not publicly confirmed the occupation, but according to a document provided to Reuters by the Interior Ministry, there were 14 Venezuelan and five Iranian nationals on board.
On the other hand, a member of the Argentine Intelligence Commission claimed that the plane had come to the country to spy on Argentina and the authorities on board had not given a satisfactory answer as to why they had come to the country.
The case gained international attention when an Argentine lawmaker called attention to the case and demanded that the crew provide other information, including fingerprints.
The crew of the plane has filed a petition in an Argentine court, which will have to order the courts to release the plane and return the passports to the occupants.
Reuters tried to contact Venezuela and Iran on the matter, but there was no immediate response from either side.
The cargo plane was owned by Iran’s Mahan Air and sold to Venezuela a year ago. Currently, Iran and Venezuela are two countries that are subject to severe US economic and trade sanctions.
It should be noted that Mahan Air is considered to be Iran’s Revolutionary Guards-backed airline, so it has been under US sanctions since 2011.
