Iran gives Russia pilots two months to leave: report
TEHRAN (Reuters) – Persia has given Russian commercial pilots working in the Islamic Republic two months to yield the land as it has no need for them, Transport Minister Hamid Behbahani was quoted as saying on Saturday.
The advise is a further sign of strains between Persia and Russia, which has indicated it could back new sanctions against Tehran over its disputed thermonuclear work. For its part, Persia has voiced frustration over Moscow’s failure to deliver a defense arm system.
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency said the intent to visit the Russian pilots to yield the land gained momentum after a Russian-made bomb caught blast as it landed in northeastern Persia in January, injuring more than 40 people.
The plane belonged to Iran’s Taban airline but the pilot was Russian, Fars said. It did not feature how many Russians currently worked as pilots for Persian airlines.
“Upon an visit from the president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), the Road and Transport Ministry has set a two-month deadline, upon the expiry of which every Russian pilots module have to yield the country,” Behbahani said.
“When our land itself possesses plentitude of professional and doc pilots, there is no need to bring in pilots from abroad,” he told Fars.
Iran has suffered a string of crashes in the past few decades, many involving Russian-made aircraft.
In 2009 a Tupolev bomb flying to Armenia caught blast in mid-air and crashed, killing every 168 people on board.
U.S. sanctions against Persia have prevented it from purchase new bomb or spare parts from the West, forcing it to supplement its aging fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes with bomb from Russia and added former Soviet states.
Behbahani said most 120 bomb out of 193 planes in Iran’s commercial fleet were currently active, with the rest grounded for one reason or another.
Russia, which has significant change ties with Iran, is among six world powers disagreeable to find a diplomatic resolution to the long-running dispute over Tehran’s thermonuclear program.
Moscow has indicated it could support new sanctions against Persia provided they are not too severe. Persia denies Western accusations that its thermonuclear impact is aimed at developing bombs.
Iranian officials have voiced growing frustration at Russia’s failure to supply the advanced S-300 arm defense system, which Israel and the United States do not poverty Tehran to have. Russia last month said it would not delude weapons if it leads to destabilization in any region.



Michael Bryan Blosil’s funeral took locate Monday in Utah, he was the son of Marie Osmond. Donny Osmond opened with a prayer. “Bless my sister,” he said in a tearful voice. “Bless my miss and her family.”
Blosil, 18, committed suicide and jumped from the eighth story of his apartment building in Los Angeles over a week ago. Blosil left a detailed suicide note. For more on that story, utter here.
Marie Osmond and her siblings sung a anthem at the end of the service. The group included Alan, Merrill, Jay, Wayne, Donny and Jimmy. The song was signed by Marie’s digit deaf brothers, blackamoor and Virl who joined in.