Iran Urges Release of Venezuelan Plane Detained in Argentina

On Monday, Iran urged Argentina to release the Venezuelan Boeing 747-300 freighter and its crew, which have remained grounded at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires since June.

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“The important thing for us is the situation of the five Iranian compatriots,” the Persian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, confirming that his country's authorities and Argentine diplomats are holding political negotiations in Tehran.

"Iranian citizens have not committed any crime and the Argentine government must show its goodwill by releasing them," he pointed out.

Given that there has still been no acceptable development in the situation unfolding since June, "the Islamic Republic of Iran will not stop exercising the consular rights of its citizens and demanding their release," Kanaani added.

These issues "are on the agenda of our current affairs in the political, consular, and legal spheres, even though the plane belongs to Venezuela and its property is in the hands of this country," he explained.

This is the second time that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has spoken publicly on the subject of the plane seized in Buenos Aires. In July, it also vigorously protested against the restrictions imposed by Argentine on the Persian crew members of the Venezuelan aircraft.

The Boeing 747-300 "belongs to the company Emtrasur, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan Conviasa, which is under sanctions from the U.S. Treasury Department," France 24 recalled, adding that Washington holds that the plane was acquired by the Iranian Mahan Air, "which the United States has accused of links to the Revolutionary Guards."