Associated Press -- Arab News

AMMAN, 15 February 2004 — The six Iraqi planes stationed at Amman’s International Airport since 1991 are part of Iraqi frozen assets and will not be released, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

Raed Abul-Saud, minister of Public Works, Housing and Transport, told the official Petra news agency that the issue of those planes, especially storage fees of up to four million dinars ($ 6.65 million), would be discussed with the United Nations. “Jordan will not give up, whatsoever, on its rights in this subject,” he said.

Iraq transferred the civilian Boeing 727s and 707s to Jordan during the 1991 Gulf War to protect them from bombings by the US-led coalition. Iraqi Transport Minister Behnam Zayya Polis said last week that the planes were unfit to be used.

After last year’s war on Iraq, Jordan froze all Iraqi assets — estimated at more than one billion dinars ($1.4 billion) — and said they would be held until rule is handed over to the Iraqi people.