The United States has asked the Argentine authorities to confiscate the plane that was seized and grounded on suspicion of links with international terrorist groups. The request for the confiscation by the US Department of Justice follows a decision by the US District Court for the District of Columbia, which ruled that the plane can be confiscated because it violates the control laws the export
The United States has appealed to Argentina to confiscate the Boeing 747 cargo plane that was seized after it arrived from Mexico at Buenos Aires airport on June 8. The plane originally belonged to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Mahan Airlines, and is under US sanctions for transporting weapons to Syria and support for terrorism.
The plane arrived in Argentina with a crew of 19 people, including five Iranians, some of whom have clear ties to the Revolutionary Guards. Argentina confiscated their passports. In recent days, a judge ordered the release of 12 crew members after weeks in which their request to leave Argentina was denied.
Last June, Gerardo Milman, an Argentine lawmaker, told the Iran International television channel that the Iranians on board the Venezuelan plane were planning “attacks on human targets.” Contrary to Iran’s claim on June 13 that the plane is not owned by an Iranian company, Millman said that the pilot was a “senior official in the Quds Force” and was part of Tehran’s covert operations, the Revolutionary Guard is listed as a terrorist organization in the United States.
The seizure request by the U.S. Department of Justice follows a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that ruled that the plane can be confiscated because it violates export control laws. The Department of Justice ruled that the Boeing 747-300 is subject to sanctions because it was sold by the Iranian company to Ametersor Venezuela, violates US export laws. Both companies have been sanctioned by the United States for cooperating with terrorist organizations.
One intriguing part of the nearly two-month saga was the identity of the plane’s Iranian pilot. Shortly after the plane was seized, it became clear that the pilot was Golmarza Ghasemi, a well-known operative in the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, and according to reports, a relative of Iran’s current interior minister, Ahmed Vahidi. The rest of the Iranians were also associated with the Revolutionary Guards or its terror-related companies.
Fourteen Venezuelans and five Iranians were on the plane when it arrived in Buenos Aires in June, seven of whom are still detained in Argentina. Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment from international media.