US Air Force F-15 was in the area of an Iranian passenger jet, but Iran accused Israel anyway.
By Paul Shindman, World Israel News
Iranian news outlets on Thursday reported several passengers were injured when pilots of an Iranian airliner alleged they had to take evasive action to avoid an Israeli fighter jet in the skies over the Syrian capital city Damascus.
The F-15 turned out to belong to the U.S. Air Force and was a safe distance away.
“Israeli fighter jet flies close to Iranian Mahan airlines passenger plane over Damascus, makes it reduce altitude,” Iran’s state-run Press TV said in a tweet.
The Iranian news agency IRIB also falsely claimed the fighter jet was Israeli, posting an unconfirmed video from a passenger showing passengers apparently injured when the Mahan pilots dove the plane.
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The erroneous Iranian reports were quoted by Reuters, with the initial headline on the New York Times website saying, “Israeli fighter jets comes close to Iranian passenger plane.” Reuters and the Iranian news agencies later corrected the stories to say it was an American F-15 fighter jet involved.
A spokesman for the U.S. armed forces Central Command confirmed that an American fighter plane that was already in the vicinity was a kilometer away from the Iranian airliner.
“A U.S. F-15 on a routine air mission in the vicinity of the CJTF-OIR At Tanf garrison in Syria conducted a standard visual inspection of a Mahan Air passenger airliner at a safe distance of approximately 1,000 meters from the airliner this evening,” Capt. Bill Urban said in a statement issued on CENTCOM’s website.
“The visual inspection occurred to ensure the safety of coalition personnel at At Tanf garrison. Once the F-15 pilot identified the aircraft as a Mahan Air passenger plane, the F-15 safely opened distance from the aircraft. The professional intercept was conducted in accordance with international standards,” Urban said.
The At Tanf U.S. military base is located east of Damascus and was initially deployed in 2016 as part of the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war. Some 200 American soldiers were stationed there, supporting Syrian rebel fighters against Islamic State terrorists and the forces of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad.
美国空军F-15当时在一架伊朗客机的区域，但伊朗无论如何都指责以色列。
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伊朗新闻机构星期四报道，一架伊朗客机的飞行员声称，他们不得不采取规避行动，在叙利亚首都大马士革上空躲避一架以色列战斗机，造成多名乘客受伤。
F-15原来是属于美国空军的，而且是安全距离。
伊朗国营媒体电视台在推特上说：“以色列战斗机在大马士革上空靠近伊朗马汉航空公司客机，使其降低高度。”。
伊朗通讯社IRIB还谎称这架战斗机是以色列的，发布了一段未经证实的视频，显示乘客显然在马汉飞行员跳伞时受伤。
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路透社引述了伊朗的错误报道，纽约时报网站最初的标题是“以色列战斗机接近伊朗客机”。路透社和伊朗通讯社后来更正了这些报道，称这是一架美国F-15战斗机参与的。
美国武装部队中央司令部发言人证实，已经在附近的一架美国战斗机距离伊朗客机一公里远。
一架空中巡逻机在距离叙利亚首都约15米的一架空中巡逻机上发表了一份声明。
“进行目视检查是为了确保塔夫驻军联军人员的安全。一旦F-15飞行员确认这架飞机是马汉航空客机，F-15安全地拉开了与飞机的距离。专业拦截是按照国际标准进行的，”厄本说。
At Tanf美军基地位于大马士革以东，最初部署于2016年，作为美国主导干预叙利亚内战的一部分。大约200名美国士兵驻扎在那里，支持叙利亚反政府武装打击伊斯兰国恐怖分子和叙利亚独裁者巴沙尔·阿萨德的部队。