TEHRAN -- Majlis defense sub-committee chairman, Reza Talaii-Nik, said here on Friday that the defense minister was not directly responsible for the recent plane crashes that killed over 119 people within forty days, adding that other officials responsible for dealing with the affairs of the armed forces should be held accountable for the incidents.

A Falcon airplane carrying military officials of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces, including IRGC Ground Forces Commander Ahmad Kazemi, crashed on Monday, January 9, killing all 11 people on board. In another incident on December 6 a C-130 aircraft carrying a number of military personnel and journalists to Southern Iran crashed into an apartment block killing 108 people abroad the plane and on ground.

Over the past few years the government especially the Management and Planning Organization and the Defense Ministry have not carried out their duties efficiently in order to support the armed forces’ aviation industry, Talaii-Nik told the Mehr News Agency. He criticized some former officials for their negligence, saying, “The new defense minister is not directly responsible for the incidents in view of his legal duties.”

Talaii-Nik noted that the subcommittee stresses the necessity to discover the main cause of the recent crash and to prevent similar incidents in the future.

MP Mohsen Kuhkan from the Majlis conservative faction called for maintaining the safety of flights.

“The passing of time must not make us forget these incidents,” he told the MNA on Friday.

Kuhkan noted that members of parliament are seriously pursuing the issue of the recent plane crashes which requires holding sessions with relevant officials, “but this does not mean impeaching them,” he added.