No regional security impacts as a result of deaths of Iran’s Raisi, FM: Pentagon

The top US defense official said Monday that he did not think the death of Iran’s president, foreign minister and other senior officials over the weekend would lead to any security impacts in the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not “necessarily see any broader regional security impacts at this point” as a result of the helicopter crash that killed the top Iranian officials.

He also denied any US links to the crash. “The United States had no part to play in that crash. That’s a fact, plain and simple.”

The helicopter which crashed on Sunday carrying Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others was found overnight Sunday after an hourslong search in difficult weather conditions.

Separately, the State Department expressed official condolences for the death of the Iranian officials. “As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” State Department Spokesman Matt Miller said.

A separate State Department spokesperson said that Washington’s Iran policy remained unchanged. “We will continue to confront the Iranian regime’s support for terrorism, proliferation of dangerous weapons, and advancement of its nuclear program in ways that have no credible civilian purpose,” the spokesperson said in a statement.