Iranian former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has held United States sanctions on Iran responsible for the tragic event that claimed the life of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi along with the 8 others on board.

While offering condolences over the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, East Azarbaijan province”s governor Malek Rahmati, and Mehdi Mousavi, the head of Raisi bodyguard team, he accused of US behind the heartbreaking incidents.

Zarif said that one of the causes of this tragic event is the United States which sanctioned the sale of the aviation industry to Iran. Notably President Raisi and other members were traveling in the BELL 212 Helicopter, a two-blade aircraft. The helicopter was manufactured in the US and had the capacity to carry 15 people. The helicopter is said to be 10 years old and the US sanctions made it difficult for Iran to obtain parts or new aircraft.

Since 1979, the United States imposed economic restrictions on Iran after it seized the US embassy in Tehran. The US later sanctioned Iran on multiple occasions. Additionally, the United States has also sanctioned Iran over its suspected nuclear program. In the past three years, US has imposed more than 600 sanctions on Iranian- entities. These sanctions target financial and economic resources, new businesses and industries, military expenditure for scientific research, and Iran space agencies among others. As per Washington the sanctions are intended to change the regime”s policies and behaviours.

However, despite all the pressure put by the sanctions the Iran maintained that it will continue to advance its peaceful nuclear program regardless of pressure from the United States. “If it was up to the United States, they would have wanted to dismantle all the industrial nuts and bolts of Iran”s nuclear industry, but Iran continues to advance its peaceful nuclear program,” Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kannai reiterated.

Earlier Iran has pointed out that despite the unilateral US sanctions, many countries are willing to establish relations with Iran such as the recent Chabahar port development by India.