Source: No Iranian Fighter Jet Escorted US Plane
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An informed source at Iran’s Army dismissed media reports that a US-chartered plane en route to the Persian Gulf city of Dubai had been escorted by Iranian fighter jets before landing at the country’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday, the source said the commercial aircraft had neither been given a warning nor escorted by the Iranian fighter jets before landing in Bandar Abbas.
The source added that the foreign plane was refueled in the Iranina airport.
The comments came after an aircraft with 100 Americans on board, chartered by the US-led military coalition en route from the Afghan city of Bagram to the Emirati city of Dubai landed in Bandar Abbas on Friday.
The plane was diverted to Iran because of issues with its flight plan, Reuters quoted the US State Department as saying on Friday.
The Fly Dubai plane took off earlier from Iran’s Bandar Abbas after being rerouted there. A US official said the plane had failed to update its flight plan after leaving Bagram for Dubai several hours late.
When Iranian civil aviation officials identified the plane, they could not find it in their system because it was supposed to have flown through hours earlier, the official said.
Iranian officials first asked it to turn around and then to land at Bandar Abbas when told it did not have enough fuel to return to Afghanistan, the US official said.
In a statement saying the plane had landed in Dubai, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that contrary to some media reports, "No Iranian jets were scrambled in this situation.”
"We appreciate the efforts of all parties to help the passengers get safely to their destination," she added.
