4 Iranians Defect to Iraq in Khomeini Aide’s Own Plane
Four Iranian defectors landed in Baghdad today aboard the plane of Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Hashemi Rafsanjani, the official Iraqi News Agency reported.
Rafsanjani, a key aide of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was not among the four, who were identified as three pilots and a flight engineer, the agency said in a report monitored in Nicosia.
The report said the Falcon aircraft landed at noon. It identified the plane’s pilot as Ali Akbar Mohammedi.
The agency said Mohammedi held a news conference after landing and appealed to Iraq for political asylum for himself and his three companions.
The agency did not say whether the Baghdad government granted his request.
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