A Lebanese airport official said the flight, Mahan Air Flight 1152, landed regularly in Beirut on Thursday evening.
TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian passenger plane flying from Tehran to Beirut on Thursday was “harassed” by fighter jets, Iranian state TV said, saying the plane managed to safely land in the Lebanese capital. A U.S. official later told The Associated Press that an American fighter jet did pass by the Iranian jet, but at a safe distance.
There were conflicting reports as to what had happened, as Iran initially blamed Israel for the incident. Syrian state media quoted unidentified civil aviation officials in Damascus as saying two jets, suspected of belonging to the U.S-led coalition, “intercepted” an Iranian passenger plane over al-Tanf, in southwestern Syria.
According to the Iranian TV report, the fighter jets came within a distance of 328 feet of the Iranian Airbus A310. The pilot quickly took the aircraft to a lower altitude to avoid a collision with the jets, the report said. “The visual inspection occurred to ensure the safety of coalition personnel at al-Tanf garrison,” Urban said. “Once the F-15 pilot identified the aircraft as a Mahan Air passenger plane, the F-15 safely opened distance from the aircraft.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Iran says passenger plane 'harassed' over Syria by US jetAn Iranian passenger plane flying from Tehran to Beirut was “harassed' by fighter jets over Syria, Iranian state TV says. A U.S. official later told the AP that a U.S. fighter jet did pass by the Iranian jet, but at a safe distance.
Read more »
Iran says foreign states may have carried out cyberattacks, plays down their role in firesIran's foreign ministry said on Thursday foreign governments may have been behind recent cyberattacks on Iranian facilities, but played down the possibility of them having a role in a series of fires and explosions at military and other installations.
Read more »
‘Desert One’ Trailer: Barbara Kopple Documentary Revisits 1980 Mission To Rescue Hostages In IranDirector Barbara Kopple’s upcoming documentary Desert One revisits the 1980 mission to rescue the 52 American hostages in Iran, daring and audacious in its goal, but ultimately ending in fail…
Read more »
Iran says passenger plane 'harassed' over Syria by US jetAn Iranian passenger plane flying from Tehran to Beirut was “harassed' by fighter jets over Syria, Iranian state TV says. A U.S. official later told the AP that a U.S. fighter jet did pass by the Iranian jet, but at a safe distance.
Read more »
Two U.S. fighter jets near Iranian passenger plane over Syrian airspace: pilotTwo U.S. fighter jets came close to an Iranian passenger plane over Syrian airspace, causing the pilot to change altitude quickly to avoid collision and injuring several passengers, the official IRIB news agency reported on Thursday.
Read more »