Iran orders 'special commission' to probe presidential chopper crash

News Desk - The Cradle

Former foreign minister Javad Zarif said on Monday that the US was to blame for Raisi’s death due to sanctions on Tehran’s aviation program

The Iranian army’s Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, ordered on 20 May an investigation into the helicopter crash northwest of Iran the day prior, which killed the country’s president Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials. 

Bagheri “commissioned a high-ranking delegation … to investigate the dimensions and causes of the President's helicopter crash,” according to Iran’s ISNA news agency. The investigation will be headed by General Ali Abdulahi, Deputy Coordinator of the Armed Forces General Staff, ISNA added. 

Former Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif said in a phone interview with state media earlier on Monday that he holds the US responsible for the crash, citing Washington’s sanctions on Tehran’s aviation program. 

“One of the causes of this tragic event is the United States, which sanctioned the sale of the aviation industry to Iran,” Zarif said. 

He added that US sanctions prevent Iran from maintaining adequate aviation facilities, adding that the crash will be “recorded in the blacklist of American crimes against the Iranian nation.”

The 45-year-old US-made BELL 212 helicopter carrying the Iranian president, foreign minister, and delegation was likely purchased by Iran’s Shah – an ally of the US and Israel – prior to the 1979 revolution that saw the establishment of the Islamic Republic. 

US sanctions against Iran prevent the country from purchasing spare parts to maintain its fleet of civilian aircraft, most of which are over two decades old. 

The sudden demise of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian has prompted social media users and observers to speculate about Israeli involvement in the crash. 

“It wasn’t us,” an anonymous Israeli official told Reuters on 20 May. There has been no official comment from Israel as of yet. 

Iran announced early on 20 May that Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian, and those accompanying them were killed in the helicopter crash the day before.

After 16-hour search operations throughout Sunday and early Monday, the Iranian Red Cresent Society (IRCS) finally came upon the wreckage of the helicopter crash, saying in a preliminary statement that “no sign of life” was found at the site.