Argentina releases all remaining Iranian crew of Venezuelan plane: Spokesman

Iran says Argentina has released all the five remaining Iranian crew members of a Venezuelan cargo plane, which Buenos Aires seized in June at the request of the US.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kan’ani made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday, saying the five Iranian nationals were freed after 129 days of diplomatic efforts as well as joint legal and consular campaigns conducted by Iran and Venezuela.  

He said the Argentinean investigating judge ultimately ruled that the documents provided by the plaintiffs — namely DAIA, the umbrella organization of the Zionist community in Argentina, as well as two Zionist members of Argentina’s parliament — were insufficient and invalid, ordering the release of the plane’s Iranian crew members and lifting their travel ban.   

Kan’ani also noted that the Iranian crew members of the Venezuelan plane were heading back home.

A Boeing 747 cargo plane owned by Venezuelan company Emtrasur with 19 crew members on board has been grounded since it landed in Argentina on June 8 over the so-called violations of the illegal US sanctions on Iran.

SS