Stranded in Tehran, fearful Israeli returns with gifts

When Iranian agents boarded an airplane that made an emergency landing in Tehran, the only Israeli passenger onboard feared the worst. Instead, he left with a gift of a wooden music box and an invitation to return when times are better.

Israeli scientist Benny Medvedev told Israeli media that he spent several harrowing hours in Tehran over the weekend after the Turkish Airlines flight, bound from Istanbul to India, made two emergency landings due to mechanical problems. When the crew informed the 123 passengers that the plane was landing on Friday, Medvedev tried to persuade the pilot to let him stay in the cabin, he told the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.

The pilot refused, and the Israeli sat himself between British tourists with the hope he would not be discovered as the only Israeli on the airplane, he told Yediot. But when the Iranian security boarded the airplane, they walked directly to Medvedev.

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“For the first hour I was terrified to death,” Medvedev told the daily. Medvedev feared that he would be taken away and never heard from again, he said. But the Iranian security men quickly allayed his fears.

“They told me, ‘We know you are Israeli but you don’t have to worry. We will help you with anything you need,” Medvedev said.