IRAN/FILE: Iran says sanctions on aviation industry are "violation of human rights"

Record ID: 313597

  • Title: IRAN/FILE: Iran says sanctions on aviation industry are "violation of human rights"
  • Date: 28th July 2009
  • Summary: TEHRAN, IRAN (JULY 27, 2009) (REUTERS) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HASSAN QASHQAVI WALKING TOWARD LECTERN IN HALL CAMERAMEN NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HASSAN QASHQAVI SAYING: "We have said already that It is a violation of human rights to put sanctions on a country's aviation used by women, men, children and foreigners." REPORTERS TAKING NOTE (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HASSAN QASHQAVI SAYING: "There is no reason for Iran not to welcome any action by any country that wants to lift sanctions." REPORTER TAKING NOTE QASHQAVI LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE HALL
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABPFQ6JU9SCTPJCD4K07BHJF1C
  • Story Text: Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi condemns western sanctions on the Islamic Republic's aviation industry following two lethal plane crashes.
    Iranian Foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said on Monday (July 27) that Western sanctions on Iran's aircraft industry are seen by the Islamic Republic as a "violation of human rights" and urged a lift on the ban.
    U.S. sanctions against Iran prevent the country from buying new aircraft or spares from the West, forcing it to supplement its ageing fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes with aircraft from the former Soviet Union.
    Qashqavi condemned the imposed sanctions.
    "We have said already that It is a violation of human rights to put sanctions on a country's aviation used by women, men, children and foreigners," he said and added: "There is no reason for Iran not to welcome any action by any country that wants to lift sanctions."
    The spokesperson remarks come after nearly 200 people have died in two separate aviation incidents.
    The first occurred in north-western Iran on July 15th as a Tupolev passenger aircraft was on its way from Tehran to Yerevan in neighbouring Armenia. Officials said the aircraft had caught fire in mid-air, ploughing into farmland.
    All 168 people on board were killed, reported Iranian media at the time. These included 151 adults, two children and 15 crew members. Eight members of Iran's national junior judo team and two coaches were among the dead, the semi-official Mehr News Agency said.
    The cause of the crash is not yet announced.
    Another Russian-made plane crashed in northeastern Iran on Friday (July 24), killing 16 of the 153 people on board, nine of them citizens of Kazakhstan. 30 people were injured in the accident.
    Air safety experts have said Iran has a poor record, with a string of crashes in the past few decades- many involving Russian-made aircraft.
    Tehran and Washington are at odds over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, which the West fears is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Tehran says its aim is only power generation.
    U.S. President Barack Obama has made a series of overtures to Iran, which Washington cut diplomatic ties with shortly after the country's 1997 Islamic revolution.
    Iran has been hit by three rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions after defying to suspend its sensitive nuclear work.
    It says imposed U.N. and U.S. sanctions have not been able to harm it.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register