The United States has responded to allegations that “US sanctions are responsible” for the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last Sunday by calling them “unfounded.”
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby weighed in on the event in a teleconference press briefing.
Kirby said he was saddened by the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Reisi in a helicopter crash and expressed his condolences to the Iranian people.
However, Kirby said that Iran’s support for elements in the region had caused serious damage, that Iran had supported the October 7 Hamas attacks and therefore Raisi’s hands were already bloodied.
John Kirby said that statements by former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who said that one of those responsible for the Raisi helicopter crash was the United States, which imposed sanctions on civil aviation elements of this country, are “baseless.”
“The claim that US sanctions are responsible for this accident” is completely unfounded. “The cause of the accident is still unclear. They are responsible for the reliability and safety of their own equipment, even civil aviation”, Kirby said, then added that Iran is trying to find a way to hold the United States accountable in this incident, and that this is not surprising.
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif claims that “one of the main perpetrators” of the helicopter crash in which President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Emir Abdullahian lost their lives was the United States, imposing unilateral sanctions that hit the country’s civil aviation sector.
