To participate in the investigation of the crash of the Ukrainian plane in Iran, the US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) will first have to obtain a license from the Ministry of Finance due to sanctions imposed on Iran, it may take more than a year to get it, Christopher O`Neal, the department’s Press Service Head, told the reporters on Friday.
“That’s right, (we need a license) because of the embargo. This will be one of several procedures that need to be coordinated within the US authorities”, – he said.
According to the him, the existing embargoes make it difficult to send representatives to investigate the incident. This applies not only to Iran, but also to other similar situations.
“There were several incidents when we didn’t leave. And there were incidents where we really tried to obtain a license from the OFAC Office, and it took more than a year”, – O`Neill said.
In the US Treasury it was confirmed that for such cases, the law provides for the issuance of licenses.
“The Ministry of Finance has the ability to resolve actions that could be prohibited by issuing OFAC general or special licenses, based on the facts and circumstances of the request. The Ministry of Finance does not comment on specific cases of issuing licenses, specific applications or licenses issued”, – the agency’s Press Service said.
The Boeing 737-800 Ukraine International Airlines flying to Kiev crashed shortly after leaving Tehran Airport on Wednesday morning. 176 people were killed: 167 passengers and nine crew members from Iran, Ukraine, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Afghanistan.
The NTSB said Iran had formally notified them of the disaster and they had assigned an accredited representative to participate in the investigation.