Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro demanded the return of a Boeing 747-300M transport aircraft detained in Argentina, RIA Novosti reports.

The US Department of Justice asked the Argentine authorities to arrest a Boeing 747-300M transport aircraft, which, according to them, was transferred by an Iranian airline to Venezuelan counterparts in violation of US export control regulations.

According to the case file, the plane, which belonged to the Iranian Mahan Air, came under the control of the Venezuelan Emtrasur, which, in turn, allowed "the re-export of the aircraft between Caracas, Venezuela, Tehran, Iran, and Moscow, Russia, without the permission of the US government."

As the Venezuelan leader noted, the aircraft detained in Argentina played a fundamental role in the humanitarian life of Venezuela. It transported medicines from China, Russia and India, as well as humanitarian aid to the countries of the Caribbean and Africa.

A cargo plane belonging to the Venezuelan company Emtrasur arrived in Argentina from Mexico on June 6. There were 19 people on board - Venezuelans and Iranians. On June 8, he took off from Ezeiza airport in the direction of Uruguay, but returned because that country did not approve the landing. Upon returning, the ship with the crew was arrested.

The Argentine authorities, in addition to the vessel, detained the crew of the aircraft, including five Iranians. The commander of the crew has been identified as a former officer of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary structure that is included in the United States on terrorist lists, the US Department of Justice said. Mahan Air and Venezuelan Conviasa, which controls Emtrasur, are under US sanctions.