Iran and the air flights

In its Friday's editorial under the title " Iran plans to make air flights to Syria though the Iraqi airspace," the Israeli daily Haartez said that Iran is making talks with Iraq in order to avoid the Turkish airspace in its flights which head for Syria and Lebanon.

Haartez added that the Iranian minister of transport Mahmoud Hijati spent several days in Baghdad this week in which he discussed among many other things the possibility of the Iranian planes to use the Iraqi airspace in their flights to Damascus and Beirut.

Haartez added that Israel expressed satisfaction over the Turkish warplanes forcing an Iranian plane to land in Turkey earlier this week at doubts that this plane carries military shipment to the Hizbullah party.

The Israeli government also issued a statement in which it said that Turkey, although it criticizes Israel, continues to prove that it takes a similar position to the Israeli position concerning the question of borders.

However, Turkey said that the measure it had taken with the Iranian plane was based on an agreement with Iran and that Turkey has the right to inspect any Iranian plane heading for Damascus and Beirut because of doubts that these planes carry illegal shipment, noting that it is the first time an Iranian plane is forced to land in Turkey for inspection.