Iran Keeps Kazakh Jetliner Out of Harm’s Way after Coalition Warning
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Air Defense helped a UAE-bound passenger plane belonging to Kazakhstan to get through a potentially dangerous condition after a US-led coalition warship in the Persian Gulf gave warnings to the civil aircraft, commanders said.
According to Iran’s Air Defense Commander Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, the incident took place during a recent military exercise staged in Iran’s southern areas.
During the drill, codenamed Defenders of Velayat Skies 7, the Iranian Air Defense helped the Kazakh airplane keep to the flight path and head for its destination safely after the coalition warship gave it warnings and received no response, the commander explained.
At a press conference on Monday, Air Defense Lieutenant Commander General Alireza Elhami gave more details of the incident, including the Kazakh flight, its itinerary and the time of the encounter.
After leaving Iran’s airspace, the Kazakh plane received warnings from a “foreign military vessel” in the Persian Gulf, but the pilot did not respond, the Iranian general explained.
After three unheeded warnings, the commander added, Iran’s Air Defense stepped in and introduced the passenger plane to the coalition warship on compassionate grounds.
A transcript of the conversation between the military vessel and Iran’s “Persian Gulf radar”, obtained by Tasnim, shows the military vessel telling the plane “you are approaching to coalition warship operating to international waters. Request establish communication and identify yourself!”
As there was no response from the plane, the Iranian forces sent a message to the coalition warship, saying, “The aircraft you are warning is a commercial aircraft with call sign KAZ4751 departing from UAAA (Almaty International Airport) to destination OMDW (Al Maktoum International Airport).”
The coalition warship thanked the Iranian radar at the end of the contact, the transcripts show.
