Spokeswoman: American Plane in Iran Leased by Ghana
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman said a US plane that landed in Tehran a few days ago was chartered by the Ghanaian government and had nothing to do with the Americans.
“The plane was carrying a high-ranking delegation from the African country of Ghana, and according to the Ghanaian government, the plane belongs to the US and has been chartered by Ghana’s presidential office for two years,” Marziyeh Afkham said on Friday.
She made the comments in reaction to a report published by the New York Times on April 17, titled "Iran Gets an Unlikely Visitor, an American Plane". The report said a plane bearing a small US flag on its tail was parked in a highly visible section of Tehran Mehrabad Airport on Tuesday morning.
Elsewhere in her remarks, Afkham made it clear that all of the passengers aboard were members of the Ghanaian delegation, headed by brother of the African country's President John Dramani Mahama.
None of the cabin crew was American, the spokeswoman stressed.
Afkham said the Ghanaian delegation held a series of meetings with the Iranian officials as part of efforts to pursue the agreements inked between Tehran and Accra during the Ghanaian president's visit to Iran two years ago.
The Ghanaian team departed Tehran on Thursday, she added.
