The plane carrying auto spare parts is parked at Ezeiza Airport.
“When there is a reasonable suspicion that the real intent behind entry (to the country) differs from that declared at the time of obtaining the visa … it will not be permitted to enter Argentine territory and must remain in the facilities of the point of entry,” the immigration authorities said in a statement.
The authorities confirmed that no one was arrested and that the crew members were accommodated in hotels with temporary residence permits.
The Iranians’ passports were confiscated, but authorities said they could get them back if they left the country on a scheduled flight while investigations continued.
AFP learned from official sources that “the federal judiciary in the city of Lomas de Zamora requested a report from the Migration Organization, the Airport Police, the Civil Aviation Administration and Customs in order to resolve the issue of the seizure of the Venezuelan plane in Ezeiza and to return the passports to the Iranian crew according to a subpoena submitted by lawyer Rafael Resnick Brenner”.
The same sources said that the Iranian and Venezuelan embassies were informed of the measures “through diplomatic channels.”
Argentina still considers the presence of Iranian passengers on airliners sensitive due to Interpol’s red alerts against Iranians accused of being linked to the 1994 bombing of an Argentine Jewish community center that left 85 dead and 300 wounded.
According to the local press, the plane belongs to the Venezuelan company Emtrasur, which it bought in February from Iran’s Mahan Air, which is under investigation in the United States over its alleged links to the Iranian military.
The plane had landed on June 6 in the city of Cordoba (central) as a precaution due to the fog that prevailed in the Argentine capital, then headed to Ezeiza.
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