Argentine authorities impound Venezuelan aircraft, Iranian state media say

Argentinian authorities have impounded a plane whose original owner, Iran's Mahan Air, was sold to a Venezuelan airline a year ago, Iranian state media has said

World

1 min read

12 June, 2022

Mahan Air has been under US sanctions since 2011 [Getty]

Iranian state media said on Sunday that Argentinian authorities have impounded a Boeing 747 plane whose original owner, Iran's Mahan Air, was sold to a Venezuelan airline a year ago.

There was no official confirmation of the reports.

"The ownership of the aircraft was transferred a year ago and it was sold to a Venezuelan company," Mahan's spokesperson Amir Hossein Zolanvari told the official news agency IRNA. Zolanvari did not name the Venezuelan company.

It was not immediately clear if the plane was on a list of Iranian aircraft under US sanctions. Mahan Air has been under US sanctions since 2011 for its support for Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iran and Venezuela, which are both under US sanctions, have close ties. The two countries on Saturday signed a 20-year cooperation plan.

(Reuters)