MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commenting on the helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisisaid on Tuesday that US sanctions have worsened aviation security.
Iranian media reported that images from the scene showed the American-made Bell 212 helicopter in which Raisi was traveling crashing into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the accident.
Iran was a major buyer of Bell helicopters under the Shah before the 1979 Islamic revolution, although the exact origin of the aircraft that crashed was unclear. Decades of sanctions have made it difficult for Iran to obtain parts or upgrade its aircraft.
“The Americans deny this, but the truth is that other countries against which the United States has announced sanctions do not receive spare parts for American equipment, including aviation,” Lavrov said of the accident.
“We are talking about deliberately causing harm to ordinary citizens who use these vehicles, and when spare parts are not provided, this is directly related to a decrease in the level of safety.”
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Trevelyan)
