'Turkey stops Iranian cargo plane en route to Syria'

Turkish government denies earlier reports that plane was stopped because it carried weapons meant for Syria, says it is "standard procedure" for planes to be checked.

iran plane 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
iran plane 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Turkish government on Wednesday denied reports that Turkish military jets forced an Iranian cargo plane to land at Biyarbakir airport Tuesday night in order to check it for Iranian arms meant for Syria, reported AP.
The government confirmed that the Iranian plane landed in Turkey, but that it is standard procedure for cargo planes to request permission to fly over Turkey and that sometimes they are required to make unscheduled landings to be searched.
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Ankara did not say what the cargo plane was carrying.
Earlier reports said that the plane, which was en route to Syria, was ordered to land in Turkey and was reportedly carrying military equipment and weapons.
The Turkish news agency Doğan said Turkey's air force and police examined the plane, calling in nuclear experts from Ankara to examine its contents.
On Tuesday, the IDF boarded a ship containing weapons from Iran that was headed for Hamas in Gaza. The IDF found 50 tons of military equipment, including missiles, launchers, shells and bullets.
On Wednesday, Iranian Army Commander-General  Amir Ataollah Salehi denied that Iran was connected to the weapons found aboard the Victoria.
"The Zionist regime's diet is mixed with lies, lies and more lies," Salehi said. "We deny all false reports."