Iranians gathered in central Tehran on Monday to mourn the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash. Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's former foreign minister, blamed US sanctions on aircraft parts for the helicopter crash that killed the Islamic Republic's president.
Mr Zarif suggested on Monday that the punitive measures had jeopardized Tehran's access to modern aircraft and made it difficult to repair its aging fleet of American-made aircraft.
The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Hussein. Amirabdollahian, the foreign minister, made the fatal flight in an American-made Bell 212 helicopter, which Iranian state media said is likely more than 40 years old.
“One of the culprits in yesterday's tragedy is the United States due to sanctions, which prohibit Iran from purchasing basic aircraft parts,” Zarif said in an interview with state television.
“They will be included in the list of US crimes against the Iranian people.”
Iran invested heavily in American aircraft, including F-14 fighter jets and Chinook helicopters, before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Washington announced arms embargo against Shortly thereafter, Tehran and its renamed Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force began to decline.
The regime was able to keep its fleet in the skies by salvaging planes for parts and rebuilding other aircraft whose supply had been blocked by the US.
Two Bell 212 helicopters were used to transport senior government officials. , as is known, survived the blockade in working order.
However, the US, UK and EU have recently tightened sanctions on dual-use goods that could help repair or upgrade aircraft in response to Iran's support. for Russia's war in Ukraine.
The two-blade, twin-design Bell 212 aircraft earned legendary status among American Vietnam War veterans for its role in the conflict.
They wrote memoirs detailing how the helicopter could pick up more than 1000 aircraft. hours of flying over the country's dense jungles in one six-month tour.
Some of the aircraft reportedly survived having their engines and hydraulic systems shot down by Viet Cong guerrillas but still successfully completed missions or moved. heavy loads between databases.
Robert Mason, one of the American pilots, wrote the memoir “Chickenhawk”, which inspired a whole generation of aviators.
Although the Bell 212 has many nicknames, those who piloted it describe it as the «Massie Ferguson of the sky» after the American tractor known for its durability and reliability.
Not only are these Vietnam-era relics still used today Iranian Air Force.
The US Air Force, Italy, Spain, Argentina and Saudi Arabia, among others, still count the obsolete helicopter as part of their fleet.
Shiite Muslims of Kashmir hold candles and photographs in memory of the Iranian President Photo: FAROOQ KHAN/SHUTTERSTOCK
Details of the crash in which Raisi died are still scant, and experts are reluctant to give a definitive opinion on whether this is what led to the crash of the ship.
Western sanctions may have contributed to the poor maintenance of the aircraft, since it American-made parts are virtually impossible to obtain legally.
But in fact, the age of the Bell 212 means that replacement parts are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. safe, even if you are one of Washington's closest allies.
The British military only recently stopped using its own fleet of Vietnam-era helicopters, which it called obsolete because of the time it took to find spare parts. While it used to take weeks to find the necessary materials, in recent times engineers have sometimes had to wait months for spare parts to arrive.
Given its experience flying over the jungles of Vietnam, the Bell 212 could be considered more than capable of carrying the Iranian president across his country in peacetime.
< p>And, like any other modern helicopter, it has a number of safety features, which keep it from falling out of the sky in the event of most catastrophic mechanical failures.
Because of the analogue cockpit of the Bell 212, Raisi's version of the flying President may not have had the advanced digital tools that would make navigation in poor weather conditions viable.
Experts suggested that heavy fog and a storm approaching Sunday, probably interfered with the flight. the pilot contributed to the disaster.
It could be that the variant the Iranian president flew had neither weather radar nor cloud-penetrating radar to determine altitude, making it difficult to fly in poor conditions when the pilot relied entirely on visuals to navigate the terrain.
Conditions were so bad that an EU satellite and Turkish drones had to be used to search for the remains of the helicopter.
And given the location and Turkey's claims that the plane was not equipped with transmitting equipment, the pilots could have been it is difficult to ask air traffic controllers for help.
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