Despite Iran’s denial of any foul play in Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has blamed Western sanctions as a contributing factor to the Iranian president’s death.
Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made these remarks during a joint press conference with Putin.
Raisi, 63, died on May 19 when his helicopter caught fire after hitting an elevated area in the mountainous northwest of Iran. He was laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.
“As a person, and not as a president, I will say that the vile, disgusting position of the United States led to this,” Lukashenko stated, as reported by Almayadeen.
“I mean, first of all, the sanctions. These scoundrels had no right to impose sanctions against ships, planes, and helicopters that transport people… They banned their companies from servicing Raisi’s helicopter. Therefore, this is also their fault.”
Lukashenko also argued that the helicopter’s age, whether 40 or 50 years old, was irrelevant. “Maybe it has been used only three times in these fifty years; it would be fine if properly serviced. But they forbade their companies from maintaining it. Therefore, this is also their fault,” he said, according to Belarus Today.
Meanwhile, a preliminary report by the general staff of the armed forces, published by the official IRNA news agency late on Thursday, indicated that no bullet holes or similar impacts were observed on the helicopter wreckage, AFP reported. The army noted that more time is needed to investigate the crash and promised to provide more details later.
