Iraq’s Nujaba Movement Raps US Harassment of Iranian Airliner
Nasr al-Shammari, the movement’s spokesman, in a Twitter post condemned the move and likened it to acts of piracy committed by mafia organizations.
He added that it once again revealed the US government’s true face.
On Thursday night, US warplanes operating illegally in Syria conducted aggressive maneuvers dangerously close to an Iranian Mahan Air flight over Syria’s al-Tanf region.
Mahan Air’s Flight 1152 had taken off from Tehran and was en route to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, when the incident happened.
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.
After refueling, it immediately took off and returned to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport.
