FALCON POWERS – Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the United States is responsible for the crash of the Iranian President’s helicopter, because it has imposed sanctions on the aviation sector in Iran and prevented the import of aircraft parts and maintenance.
Zarif’s accusation comes from the fact that the United States imposes sanctions on Iran, preventing it from importing aircraft, spare parts and maintenance for aircraft, including the American-made Bell-212 helicopter used by President Raisi.
He said that despite all these difficulties, the Iranian people stood by the system and the revolution in the special circumstances the country is going through, stressing that the situation will improve and the people will understand the better circumstances. He added that “the Iranian people, through their solidarity and national unity, have shown that they are an alert and understanding people who will unite in difficult positions for a better tomorrow”.
In September 2021, Raisi told the United Nations that “sanctions are the United States’ new way of waging war on the countries of the world”.
It is worth noting that the helicopter that was carrying the Iranian President and crashed in northwestern Iran was an American-made Bell 212 model. The Bell 212 is a helicopter produced in 1968 in the United States, manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a twin-engine and twin-blade helicopter, characterized by having one pilot seat and 14 passengers, with an interior volume of 6.23 cubic meters. The maximum payload for this aircraft is 2,268 kilograms.
In 2021, the Canadian Transportation Board issued a warning about this model of aircraft and suspended its operation in the country pending inspection of the helicopter blade mounting bolts, which it said were defective and needed to be replaced and verified to be working properly.
