A US senior administration official agrees with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s comments yesterday that there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of foul play in the helicopter crash that killed Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and a handful of other officials,
NBC News reports.
“No foreign involvement at all,” this official said.
However, the Biden administration is monitoring the situation closely and watching reports of any Iranian officials trying to blame the U.S. or Israel for the Iranian president’s death.
“They already have,” this official said, noting claims by Iran’s former foreign minister on state TV today that U.S. sanctions were to blame for the lack of replacement helicopter parts in the country.
“It’s ridiculous,” the official said.
As for whether the death of Iran’s president and foreign minister would have any impact on U.S-Iran relations: “We’re not anticipating any significant sea change here.”
President Biden is expected to return to the White House early this afternoon.
