Tehran muttered, but did not threaten punitive action against Baghdad as it did in early October when the first Iran Air plane was ordered to land for an inspection.
Baghdad said the plane searched Saturday was carrying such things as tents and first aid gear.
The United States has pushed Baghdad for many months to inspect Iranian flights going through its airspace to Damascus. The Iraqi government resisted for months until its refusal became an international issue. It then changed policy one month ago.
What is unknown is whether Iraq has notified Tehran in advance of what planes will be searched.
In Tehran, the Foreign Ministry complained that Baghdad was allowing itself to be pushed around by others—but this time it did not threaten retaliation as it did after the first plane was ordered to land for an inspection.
At that time, Ambassador Hassan Danaifar told reporters that aircraft inspections violate “diplomatic norms.” International law, however, authorizes a country to order any planes using its airspace to land and undergo inspection if there is a suspicion of any illegal cargo.
Under separate UN Security Council resolutions, Iran is forbidden to export arms and all countries are barred from sending arms to Syria.
On October 2, Iraq ordered an Iran Air cargo plane to land in Baghdad for inspection. Ambassador Danaifar said that inspection not only violated “diplomatic norms” but also “runs counter to the two states’ security agreements and air transportation treaty.” He didn’t cite specific articles he thought were being violated.
He then threatened retaliation if Baghdad ordered any more inspections. Danaifar did not say what Baghdad would do in response, however.