Judge orders seizure of Venezuelan-Iranian plane stranded in Buenos Aires

Argentine justice ordered this Wednesday (15) the seizure of the Venezuelan-Iranian plane that was stranded at the Buenos Aires international airport as part of an investigation into possible links with the international terrorism.

Sources linked to this investigation told Efe that the Court decided to seize the aircraft so that more information can be obtained about what the crew, composed of five Iranians and 14 Venezuelans whose passports had already been seized, was doing in the Argentine capital.

The plane in question, a Boeing 747 Dreamliner in cargo configuration, belonged to the Iranian company Mahan Air and currently belongs to Emtrasur, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautical Industries and Air Services (Conviasa). Both companies are sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury.

The aircraft entered Argentina on June 6, from Mexico and after a stopover in Venezuela, bound for Ezeiza International Airport. Last Wednesday, she took off towards Uruguay to refuel, but landed again at the Argentine airport, because the neighboring country did not allow her to land in its territory.

Since this week, the Argentine Justice has been investigating the crew’s possible links to international terrorism, as one of its members, the Iranian Gholamreza Gashemi, has the same name as a member of the Quds Forces, a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, defined by the United States as a terrorist organization. .

Argentina’s Minister of Security, Aníbal Fernández, said this Wednesday that the country’s authorities had followed “every step” in relation to the plane, complying with all established protocols, and the Chief of Staff of the government, Juan Manzur, said that the matter “is in the hands of Justice”.

The country has suffered two terrorist attacks in the years 90 – in the Mutual Association Israelita Argentina (Amia) and at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires go Local authorities attributed the authorship of both to personalities from Iran and the Hezbollah group.

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