TEHRAN – A member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has said terror-related objectives were behind the United States’ measure in harassing an Iranian passenger plane in the Syrian sky.

“The harassment of the Mahan passenger plane must be pursued by the diplomatic apparatus, the Judiciary and the Civil Aviation Organization through international channels,” Mehr quoted Zohreh Elahian as saying on Sunday.

“Harassing the Mahan plane is an explicit threat to civilian lives and it is a blatant violation of international aviation law and regulations,” she added. 

Two U.S. warplanes dangerously came close to Mahan Air’s Airbus A310 passenger plane over Syria on Thursday, forcing the pilot to suddenly change altitude to avoid a collision. The plane was en route from Tehran to Beirut. 

At least 12 people onboard were injured. Iran strongly denounced the U.S. move as a “terrorist act” and submitted a letter of complaint to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

On Friday, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, strongly denounced the U.S. “adventurist and dangerous” move against Mahan Air’s Beirut-bound passenger plane, saying the U.S. had no rights to inspect civilian planes in the sky.  

“Both the presence of U.S. troops in Syria and the air missions of their warplanes were illegal. More importantly, no one has allowed the U.S. to inspect passenger planes in the sky using its fighter jets,” the spokesman said in a statement.

Elahian, who heads the Majlis human rights subcommittee, said the subcommittee strongly denounced this atrocious U.S. measure, which further showed the bullying and aggressive nature of the American rulers.

The downing of the Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes which killed 290 people is in the collective memory of the Iranian nation, she remarked.

Female legislator also said the presence of American forces brings nothing but instability and chaos to different parts of the world.

“All these are evidence showing the necessity of expelling the Americans from the region,” the MP added.

MH/PA