Iran Contacts Swiss Embassy, Warns US against Harassing Its Airliners
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iran has contacted the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which protects American interests in Iran, to warn that the US would be held accountable if anything happened to a Beirut-bound Iranian passenger airplane.
In a statement on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said Iran’s mission to the United Nations had also conveyed this message to the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
“We are investigating the details of this incident and after information is complete we will take necessary legal and political measures,” he said.
Two US fighter jets came close to a Mahan Air passenger plane in Syrian airspace, causing the pilot to quickly change altitude to avoid collision.
A video posted by Iran’s IRIB news agency showed a jet from the window of a plane and blood on the face of a passenger – reportedly as a result from an injury sustained during the sudden altitude change.
IRIB initially reported a single Israeli jet had come near the plane but later quoted the pilot as saying there were two jets which identified themselves as American.
The pilot of the passenger plane contacted the jet pilots to warn them about keeping a safe distance and the jet pilots identified themselves as American, IRIB reported.
The plane later landed in Beirut, safely evacuating its passengers, some of whom were injured.
It immediately took off and returned to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini without any harassment, media reports say.
