Argentine President Alberto Fernández stressed this Saturday that there was “no disorder” regarding the plane with an Iranian and Venezuelan crew, and accused the opposition of wanting to show it “is not” by contacting the plane. terror.
“They wanted to show something that wasn’t there, something obscure, an obscure move (…) by the government. But of course the opposition tried to take advantage of it as it was,” Fernández told Radio 10.
According to the president, the problem with the plane is limited to refueling difficulties due to US sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, the current and former owners of the plane.
“One Venezuelan plane arrived without any irregularities. There were five Iranians on the plane, as far as we know, without any restrictions. Even with regard to Venezuelans,” said Fernández.
The Boeing 747 from Mexico arrived in Argentina on June 6 with a set of auto parts. Unable to refuel in Buenos Aires, he tried to leave for Uruguay on 8 June, but Uruguayan authorities refused him entry and he had to return to Ezeiza airport.
The plane and its crew, which consists of 14 Venezuelans and five Iranians, who are prohibited from leaving the country, are currently under judicial investigation.
The aircraft is owned by the company Emtrasur, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan company Conviasa. It was purchased a year ago from Iranian airline Mahan Air.
Argentine Security Minister Aníbal Fernández claimed in initial reports that one crew member had “namesake status” of Al Quds, the elite force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which is classified as a terrorist organization.
But on Friday, Esteban Aquino, head of Paraguay’s intelligence service, said that Gholamreza Ghasemi did not have the same name as someone linked to this group, but that it was him, and that’s why they had warned countries in the region.
Argentina considers the presence of Iranian travelers sensitive, given the warnings of the 1994 attack on the Jewish headquarters of AMIA that left 85 dead and nearly 300 injured to the former rulers of the Islamic Republic.
After learning that the plane was taken into custody, Iran attributed the measure to “propaganda” and “psychological operations”.
Venezuela accused Uruguay of putting the lives of the crew at “serious risk” by blocking their entry for refueling.
source: Noticias
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