Several passengers on an Iranian plane en route from Tehran to Beirut were injured when the pilots changed altitude to avoid two American fighter jets “harassing” them over Syria, Iranian media reported on Friday, but the US military said an F- 15 performed a “visual inspection” from a safe distance.
The video shared by Hassan Azimzadeh, a reporter for the Iranian media outlet IRIB who was aboard Mahan Air Flight 1152 on Thursday, shows a military plane approaching the plane.
An injured passenger sitting by the window describes how he had crashed into the plane’s ceiling and shows his bloodstained face mask to the reporter, according to Reuters.
The video also shows the rest of the passengers, some of whom use flotation devices, and an elderly man lying on the floor while others help him. Oxygen masks are also seen hanging from the top panels.
“I saw a black plane approaching us and then we lost balance,” an unidentified injured passenger told state television, Reuters reported. “It was a jet. Almost as close to our plane.
Azimzadeh said the flight landed safely in Beirut.
“Some passengers were injured and ambulances were called to take them to the Beirut hospital,” he said.
The plane arrived in Tehran early Friday, according to the Fars news agency.
The United States Central Command, which oversees US troops in the region, said the F-15 was conducting a visual inspection of the Iranian plane when it passed near Tanf’s garrison in Syria, where US forces are stationed.
Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban said the fighter jet “performed a standard visual inspection of a Mahan Air passenger jet at a safe distance of approximately 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) from the plane tonight.”
He added: “The visual inspection was carried out to guarantee the safety of the coalition personnel in the At Tanf garrison. Once the F-15 pilot identified the plane as a Mahan Air passenger jet, the F-15 safely opened the distance to the plane. “
Urban said the maneuver was carried out in accordance with international standards.
IRIB reported that the Iranian crew contacted the F-15, which identified itself as American, to warn it to keep a safe distance, according to Reuters.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Tehran would take legal and political action in response to the incident.
Mohammad Eslami, Iran’s minister of roads and urban development, was quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency as saying that his country has filed a formal complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization.
He described the United States flyby as a “terrorist act, one of aggression.”
Iranian media also quoted Laya Joneydi, vice president of legal affairs, saying: “The explanations provided so far (by the US military) are unwarranted and unconvincing.
“Harassment of a passenger aircraft on the territory of a third country is a clear violation of aviation security and the freedom of civil aircraft,” added Joneydi.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of risking a disaster, Reuters reported.
“The United States … harasses a scheduled civilian plane, endangering innocent civilian passengers, apparently to protect its occupying forces,” he said in a tweet. “These outlaws must stop before the disaster.”
Tensions have risen between Washington and Tehran since 2018, when President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with six powers and re-imposed sanctions that affected the country’s economy.
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