TEHRAN - Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that the United States’ act in threatening an Iranian passenger plane is “not forgivable”.

In a meeting with top judicial officials, he called on the national prosecutor general and the Judiciary’s deputy director for international affairs to pursue the complaints of the passengers.

A passenger, who was aboard the Mahan Air Flight 1152, has sustained a spinal cord injury during the U.S. fighter jets’ harassment of the plane.

“The situation of this wounded person has been stabilized, but the severity of his injuries remains high,” Tasnim quoted the director of Beirut’s al-Rasoul al-Aazam Hospital as saying.

The director also said that three wounded persons have been treated for broken legs and hands, but the condition of the person who sustained spinal cord injury is not well.
 
Raisi also noted that expulsion of the United States from the region will put an end to the U.S. evil deeds.

U.S. warplanes operating illegally in Syria conducted aggressive maneuvers close to an Iranian Mahan Air flight over Syria’s al-Tanf region on Thursday. The plane was en route to the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

In a letter to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif published late Saturday, Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said Iran must legally pursue the United States’ harassment against the passenger plane.

“Once again, the United States turned another page in its dark record against the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its fighter jets conducted threatening and dangerous moves close to Mahan flight number 1152 in Syrian airspace on Thursday, July 23,” he remarked.

The prosecutor said passengers and crew were hurt as the pilot was forced to abruptly drop altitude.

The national prosecutor said the U.S. act was contrary to international law and the Chicago and Montreal conventions.

“So, it is essential for the executive bodies, including Civil Aviation Organization and Mahan airline, to cooperate with the Syrian government and ICAO [the International Civil Aviation Organization] to implement articles 13 and 17 of the Chicago Convention and receive the report on the incident as soon as possible and take necessary legal action according to articles 44, 54, 55, 84 and 85 of the Chicago Convention,” he stated.

Laya Joneidi, the presidential aide for legal affairs, also said the action against the passenger plane is a violation of the principles of international law.

She said the actions taken by the U.S. fighters are a violation of Articles 3 and 44 of the International Civil Aviation Convention (Chicago Convention).

According to Joneidi, the explanations provided by the U.S. so far are unjustified and unconvincing, so the actions taken by the fighters will cause the international responsibility of their respective governments and will lead to legal action by Iran, including in the ICAO Council and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

NA/PA