Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, said on Tuesday that US sanctions had worsened aviation safety.
Lavrov’s statement came following talks with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari, on the sidelines of a regular meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers in the Kazakh capital, Astana.
He said there is no reason for speculations regarding any potential changes in Iran’s foreign policy course after the death of Raisi.
“I honestly see no reason to speculate on the topic of changes in the foreign policy course of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he noted.
About the crash that killed his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Lavrov said: “The Americans disown this, but the truth is that other countries against which the United States announced sanctions do not receive spare parts for American equipment, including aviation.”
He added: “We are talking about deliberately causing damage to ordinary citizens who use these vehicles, and when spare parts are not supplied, this is directly related to a decrease in the level of safety.”
Abdollahian was scheduled to attend the SCO meeting, after his country gained membership in the Council.
Iranian media had reported that images from the site showed the US-made Bell 212 helicopter on which Raisi was travelling slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash.
Iran was a major buyer of Bell helicopters under the Shah before the 1979 revolution, though the exact origin of the aircraft that crashed was not clear. Decades of sanctions have made it hard for Iran to obtain parts or upgrade its aircraft.
Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said his country must complete the investigation into the crash of the helicopter carrying the country’s president and FM in order to draw any conclusions about its causes, the Russian Tass news agency reported.
“Right now we must be patient,” Jalali stressed.
“Naturally, we will see the matter and the investigation through to the end. Needless to say, the Islamic Republic of Iran and relevant ministries and agencies have already begun the investigation. And, of course, they will have a clear report and this report will be submitted to the supreme leader as well as to the people of Iran,” he added.
The Iranian ambassador also said there will be no changes in Iranian foreign policy after Raisi's death.
On Monday, Matthew Miller, US State Department spokesperson, said in a statement that the US had been unable, due largely to logistical reasons, to accept an Iranian request for assistance following the helicopter crash.
