Japan's Request, Turkey's Answer

Two obstacles stood in Japan's way. Its legal and logistical arrangements made it difficult to send military aircraft overseas, and no Japanese airline flew regular routes to Tehran. So Japan turned to Turkey for help. The Turkish government agreed, and Turkish Airlines prepared a special operation to fly into Tehran. It was a dangerous assignment: Iraq's warning applied to any aircraft over Iran, including the ones being sent on this mission, and the people waiting for them had little time to spare.