Another Iranian airplane bound for Syria was made to land in Iraq to undergo an inspection.This is this the fifth time in the past month that Iraq has made an Iranian airplane land so that it could be searched.
A 747 jet carrying 30 passengers and 20 crew members landed for 10 minutes in Iran to allow for an inspection by Iraqi officials, after which it was allowed to fly on to Damascus.
A similar search was carried out on April 11, and Iraqi officials announced that only non-military goods were found on the plane.
In March, the U.S. Secretary of State made a surprise visit to Iraq and called on the Iraqi government to be more vigilant of Iranian airplanes flying over Iraqi airspace to Damascus. He alleged that Iran may be delivering arms to the Beshar Assad government.
Iran has been a loyal supporter of the Assad government since the Syria crisis began two years ago; however, Iran insists that the Syrian conflict must be resolved without any intervention by foreign forces.
Iran has said its assistance to Syria consists only of first aid and humanitarian supplies.
