Syrian diplomats: US violates international laws and conventions by intercepting Iranian passenger plane over Syria
NEW YORK, (ST)- Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, said on Friday that intercepting an Iranian passenger plane by US fighter jets in Syrian airspace is a double criminal act that doesn’t only violate Syrian sovereignty, but also international laws and the Chicago Convention for international civil aviation.
In a statement to the Iranian News Agency (IRNA), al-Jaafari affirmed that the US should be held accountable for threatening an Iranian passenger plane over Syria, in order to ensure that this act will not be repeated. He reiterated that the presence of US forces in Syria is illegal and that it is an occupation.
“They didn’t even respect their own commitments towards the safety of civil airlines,” he indicated, referring to Chicago Convention signed in the Unites States.
“This is not the first time the Americans threaten the safety of Iranian passengers,” he said, pointing out that in 1988, the American forces shot down an Iranian passenger plane over the Gulf, killing 290 passengers.
On his part, Syria’s Ambassador to Iran Adnan Mahmoud said that the Iranian passenger plane incident embodies American terrorism which endangers the life of civilians, including women and children.
He reiterated that this aggressive US behavior is not separate from the American acts of supporting terrorism in Syria and looting the Syrian resources.
He asserted that the American occupation and all other foreign troops that are illegally present in Syria should withdraw from the country immediately.
Hamda Mustafa