Argentina’s charge daffaires ad interim summoned to foreign ministry

Following Argentina’s move to ban the departure of five Iranian nationals who are the crew members of a Venezuelan cargo plane, Argentina’s charge daffaires ad interim in Tehran was on Tuesday summoned by the head of the second department for the Americas at the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Islamic Republic’s strong protest was conveyed to the diplomat.

Following Argentina’s move to ban the departure of five Iranian nationals who are the crew members of a Venezuelan cargo plane, Argentina’s charge daffaires ad interim in Tehran was on Tuesday summoned by the head of the second department for the Americas at the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Islamic Republic’s strong protest was conveyed to the diplomat.

In the meeting, the Iranian Foreign Ministry official reiterated that the accusations levelled against the Iranian nationals are baseless. The officials also described the long inquiry launched by an Argentine judge to investigate the status of the plane and the Iranian citizens as unacceptable. He underscored that the status of the Venezuelan plane and the Iranian crew is fully legal under international law and aviation conventions and no allegation can be levelled against the Iranian nationals in this regard.

The Iranian official then said the Islamic Republic and the families of the Iranian nationals are extremely concerned about the continued confiscation of the travelling documents and the limitations on their departure from Argentina which is an example of gross human rights violation. He also underlined the need to immediately lift the ban on their departure.

The head of the second department for the Americas also referred to some reports by Zionist media outlets and said their levelling of unfounded accusations against the Iranian nationals is a sign of the hostility of the Zionists toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iranian citizens.

He warned about the continuation of this trend, saying the Iranian government is duty-bound and determined to defend the basic rights of Iranians and their freedom and in this connection, it demands the Argentine government fulfil its responsibilities to take immediate action to lift the restrictions on these five Iranian crew members and facilitate their departure from Argentina.