US jet came 'dangerously close' to passenger plane, claims Iranian media

A US fighter jet came “dangerously close” to an Iranian aeroplane resulting into passengers getting hurt, Iranian media claimed. On July 23, the state news agency of Irib accused the US aircraft of meddling with an Iranian passenger plane in the Syrian airspace. The plane was reportedly travelling from Tehran to Beirut where it landed safely later.

The plane was operated by Tehran based Mahan airlines. According to the Islamic republic, the pilot of the aircraft had to quickly change altitude after American jet got near it. In addition, it has said that it resulted in severe injuries to several of the passengers on the plane.

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'US jet on a regular mission'

 However, the claims are denied by the US , which said that it’s US F-15 was maintained “safe distance” from the passenger aircraft. According to a spokesman for US Central Command, the US fighter plane was on a routine mission in al-Tanf garrison.

"A US F-15 on a routine air mission in the vicinity of the at [al]-Tanf garrison in Syria conducted a standard visual inspection of a Mahan Air passenger airliner at a safe distance of approximately 1,000 metres (3,281ft) from the airliner this evening," Capt Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement.

He also added that once the pilot gained recognition that it was Mahan airlines airplane, it “safely opened distance”  from the aircraft. He added that the routine inspection was to ensure the safety of personnel at US military base at al-Tanf, near Iraq and Jordan.

This is not the first time Iran has accused its arch-enemy the US of interference. Previously, the Rouhani led government had accused US of meddling with its warships in the Gulf of Oman, a claim which was later denied by the US. The US-Iran tension escalated earlier this year after Iran’s supreme leader was killed by an American drone attack.

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