TEHRAN – Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi stated on Wednesday that those countries which have imposed sanctions against Iran are responsible for Iran’s plane crashes.

“Although we have had great accomplishments in aviation industry, this does not negate the responsibility of those countries that imposed sanctions against Iran,” he said in a statement.
Qashqavi added, “Variety of planes is a must and special attention should be paid to it.”
Last week, an Iranian passenger plane crashed, killing all 153 passengers and 15 crew members.
The plane, a Russian-made Tupolev, went down 20 kilometers from the northwestern city of Qazvin about 15 minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport.
Iranian Civil Aviation Organization Director Ali Ilkhani said the Tu-154M that crashed was built in 1987, was bought by Iran in 1998, and had an overhaul certificate valid until 2010.
U.S. sanctions prevent Iran from buying European spare parts or planes.
In a statement released on Monday, National Prosecutor General Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi denounced the sanctions against Iran’s airline industry, calling them inhumane.
“The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and other international organizations must realize that the sanctions imposed on the airline industry are a clear manifestation of actions against humanity,” he stated.
“Despite all the efforts in recent years to improve flight safety, sanctions on plane parts are still killing passengers,” the official said