From the Liveblog of
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Iran says passengers can sue US for endangering Mahan Air flight
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s judiciary tells passengers aboard an Iranian commercial airliner that the US said was intercepted by its warplanes that they can sue Washington for endangering their lives.
Two US fighter jets flew dangerously close to the Mahan Air plane over war-torn Syria on Thursday, according to Iranian authorities, forcing the pilot to take emergency action and causing injuries to some passengers.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) insisted in a statement that it was a “professional intercept… conducted in accordance with international standards.”
The incident was the latest between arch-foes Tehran and Washington since US President Donald Trump in 2018 walked out of a multilateral nuclear accord with Iran and imposed punishing sanctions.
“Air routes are considered corridors for civilian aircraft, therefore the very act of terrorist CENTCOM’s fighters entering this corridor means endangering international air transit,” Iran’s deputy judiciary head Ali Bagheri-Kani is quoted as saying by the body’s Mizan Online website.
“This was a clear violation of international laws and a clear threat to the right of life of citizens, so it can be followed up on in international bodies,” he adds.
Bagheri-Kani says all the passengers who were on board the flight from Tehran to Beirut could file for legal action against “the terrorist US army command and others involved” in Iranian courts “for moral and physical damage.”
Legal action could also be pursued through the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Court of Justice, he says.
— AFP
