Iran Condemns Ilegal Transfer of Venezuelan Plane to the US

On Tuesday, Nasser Kanani, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned as illegal the seizure and transfer to the United States of the plane belonging to the Venezuelan airline Southern Aerocargo Transport Company (EMTRASUR).

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"It was an illegal seizure and theft. The U.S. unilateral coercive measures are contrary to the basic principles of the United Nations Charter and international law," he said, adding that Iran declares its firm support for Venezuela's legal and diplomatic actions to recover the aircraft.

On Monday, the EMTRASUR Boeing 747 arrived in Florida from Buenos Aires International Airport in Ezeiza, where it had been arbitrarily detained for 20 months.

In June 2022, this aircraft landed in Argentina with a crew of five Iranians and fourteen Venezuelans, who were initially detained by the Argentine justice accused of the alleged crime of financing terrorist activities. They were later released due to lack of evidence.

The plane, which had previously belonged to the Iranian airline Mahan Air, belongs to EMTRASUR, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautics Industries and Air Services (CONVIASA), on which the U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions.

On February 11, the administration of Argentine President Javier Milei transferred custody of the Boeing 747 to the U.S. in compliance with an order from the District Court of Columbia.

Washington claims the aircraft arguing that it was transferred to a third party by Mahan Air, a company under U.S. sanctions. Deputy Attorney General Matthew Olsen argues that this transfer violated U.S. export control laws.

On Monday, the Venezuelan state warned that it will give a "strong, direct, and proportionate response to this attack, for which it will use all available resources within the framework of the Constitution, diplomacy, and international law."