عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

US Asks Argentina to Seize Venezuelan Plane Linked to Iran

An American flag waves outside the US Department of Justice Building in Washington, US, December 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
An American flag waves outside the US Department of Justice Building in Washington, US, December 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
TT
20
TT

US Asks Argentina to Seize Venezuelan Plane Linked to Iran

An American flag waves outside the US Department of Justice Building in Washington, US, December 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
An American flag waves outside the US Department of Justice Building in Washington, US, December 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday asked for permission to confiscate an Iranian plane sold to Venezuelan owners and impounded in Argentina on suspicions it was linked to international terrorist groups, the agency said in a statement.

The unannounced arrival of the plane in Argentina on June 8 sparked weeks of intrigue as well as concern within the Argentine government over its ties to Iran and Venezuela and companies sanctioned by the US, Reuters reported. The plane was grounded by local authorities on landing.

The confiscation request followed the unsealing of a July 19 warrant for the plane's seizure in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, which alleged that the aircraft could be confiscated because it violated export control laws, the DOJ said.

The DOJ said the US-origin Boeing 747-300 aircraft is subject to sanctions as its sale from Iran's Mahan Air to Emtrasur last year, part of the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautical Industries and Air Services (Conviasa), violates US export laws. Both companies are sanctioned by the United States for alleged collaboration with terrorist organizations.

"The Department of Justice will not tolerate transactions that violate our sanctions and export laws," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the DOJ's National Security Division in the statement.

Mahan Air is sanctioned for ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), a US-designated terrorist organization. The US sanctioned Conviasa in 2019 for its ties to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government.

"The seizure of this aircraft demonstrates our determination to hold accountable those who seek to violate US sanctions and export control laws," said US Attorney Matthew Graves.

Fourteen Venezuelans and five Iranians were traveling on the plane when it arrived in Buenos Aires. Seven of them are still detained in Argentina.

Most Viewed

 
World

Iran Says It Will Respond to Reimposition of UN Sanctions

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
TT
20
TT

Iran Says It Will Respond to Reimposition of UN Sanctions

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iran will react to any reimposition of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program, the country's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, without elaborating on what actions Tehran might take.

A French diplomatic source told Reuters last week that European powers would have to restore UN sanctions on Iran under the so-called "snapback mechanism" if there were no nuclear deal that guaranteed European security interests.

The "snapback mechanism" is a process that would reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran under a 2015 nuclear deal that lifted the measures in return for restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.

"The threat to use the snapback mechanism lacks legal and political basis and will be met with an appropriate and proportionate response from Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference, without giving further details.

The 2015 deal with Britain, Germany, France, the US, Russia and China - known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - states that if the parties cannot resolve accusations of "significant non-performance" by Iran, the "snapback mechanism" process can be triggered by the 15-member UN Security Council.

"The European parties, who are constantly trying to use this possibility as a tool, have themselves committed gross and fundamental violations of their obligations under the JCPOA," Baghaei said.

"They have failed to fulfill the duties they had undertaken under the JCPOA, so they have no legal or moral standing to resort to this mechanism."

Western countries accuse Iran of plotting to build a nuclear weapon, which Tehran denies.

The United States pulled out of the deal in 2018 under the first administration of President Donald Trump, who called the agreement "weak".

Trump, whose second presidency began in January, has urged Tehran to return to nuclear negotiations on a new deal after a ceasefire was reached last month that ended a 12-day air war between Iran and Israel that destabilized the Middle East.

When asked if Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would meet with Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, Baghaei said no date or location had been set for resuming the US-Iran nuclear talks.