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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran Wants Direct Civilian Flights To The US |
| 2006-01-29 |
| Iran has asked the United States to allow direct flights between the two countries after a break of more than two decades, a senior civil aviation official said on Thursday. The request comes as the United States and its European Union allies are pressing for the Islamic Republic to be reported to the United Nations Security Council where it could face possible sanctions for its nuclear program. "We sent a letter to the relevant American officials on Wednesday, announcing Iran's willingness to resume direct flights," Nourollah Rezai-Niaraki, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, told state television. He said the decision to make the request was taken by hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to demand from the large Iranian community living in the United States. "They have repeatedly complained about wasting time and losing their baggage on connecting flights," the official said. Iranian airliners have been barred from the United States since the US government broke ties with Tehran after the 1979 Islamic revolution. An Iranian civil aviation spokesman said Ahmadinejad's decision did not signal any move to try to improve relations between the two old foes. "I hope American officials do not adopt a political stance in making a decision on this request," said spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh. The United States and the EU accuse Iran of trying to make nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Tehran says it needs nuclear technology to satisfy booming domestic electricity demand. Iran is subject to US economic sanctions imposed in 1996, under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. Due to the sanctions, Iran has struggled to maintain its ageing fleet of aircraft, mostly US-built Boeing planes bought before the 1979 revolution. "Chutzpah of the Year" Award? |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #12 That's not balls, just plain stupid. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-29 17:16 |
| #11 Iran has asked the United States to allow direct flights between the two countries after a break of more than two decades, a senior civil aviation official said on Thursday. These guys got balls. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2006-01-29 17:15 |
| #10 what ed said. |
| Posted by: RD 2006-01-29 16:02 |
| #9 It would solve the distance and targeting problems for them. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-01-29 12:43 |
| #8 Yeah, but at least 9-11 taught us that it's ok to shoot down civilian flights that do not respond when repeatedly querried. Preferably as far at sea as possible from our shores. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-01-29 12:39 |
| #7 I agree with Darrell. Airliner is their preferred warhead delivery system at the moment, and probably for many years to come. |
| Posted by: HV 2006-01-29 11:07 |
| #6 Did Rezai-Niaraki get a rim-shot when he said this? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-29 11:04 |
| #5 Uh, Nope, no way, not a chance in hell. But I think if Iran continues acting the way they do they will get a few flyovers from the US and all the enriched Uranium they can stand, for free! |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-01-29 10:41 |
| #4 Trojan horse nuke. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-01-29 10:19 |
| #3 I'm sure they're willing to cooperate with us on checking their passenger lists before takeoff, too. Right. You bet. Suck it up and deal with the layovers and lost luggage. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2006-01-29 09:50 |
| #2 The first US-Iran direct flights will be from Whiteman AFB. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-01-29 09:48 |
| #1 "We sent a letter to the relevant American officials on Wednesday, announcing Iran's willingness to resume direct flights," That's nice. He said the decision to make the request was taken by hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to demand from the large Iranian community living in the United States. "They have repeatedly complained about wasting time and losing their baggage on connecting flights," the official said. And we want their currency here, so we'd better fix this. "I hope American officials do not adopt a political stance in making a decision on this request," Cause it's such a hassle trying to get suicide bombers into the States the indirect way .... |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-29 09:46 |