A charter airplane carrying Americans was ordered to land in Iran, the Pentagon confirms. A statement from a senior State Department official says the Fly Dubai flight from Bagram Air Field to the United Arab Emirates "was re-routed to Bandar Abbas, Iran because of a bureaucratic issue today."
The statement says the issue "appears to have been resolved and hopefully the plane will be able to take off soon."
The Washington Post, citing U.S. officials, reports:
"The plane had been contacted by Iranian air traffic controllers, who instructed it to return to Afghanistan and file the correct plan. When the pilots informed the Iranians they did not have enough fuel to return to Bagram, they were asked to land."
Update at 7:55 p.m. ET. Plan Landed In Dubai:
State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf says the plane has landed in Dubai. NBC News says passengers and baggage were transferred to a new plane, which it reports took off three hours after the charter plane was diverted.
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