Are Sanctions Against Iran Responsible For Plane Crashes That Have Left More Than 1,700 Passengers And Crew Members Dead?

Iran’s Aging Airliner Fleet Seen As Faltering Under U.S. Sanctions -- New York Times

TEHRAN — Capt. Houshang Shahbazi was preparing to land at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport last October when a blinking red light in the cockpit of his 40-year-old Boeing 727 signaled that he had a big problem: the landing gear in the nose was jammed.

Behind the cockpit, in rows of cramped, outdated seats, sat 120 passengers who had boarded the Iran Air flight three hours earlier in Moscow. Captain Shahbazi and his crew performed all the emergency procedures, but the plane’s front wheel remained stuck.

As the passengers were told to prepare for a crash landing, Captain Shahbazi placed both hands on the controls and tried to banish thoughts of charred bodies and flaming wreckage.

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My Comment: I do not buy Captain Shahbazi's argument that it is US sanctions that are responsibility for these deaths. It is the Iranian government's support of terror groups, calls for the extermination of Israel, threats and more threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, etc.. that has resulted in having Iran put on the international community's pariah list. Blaming others for reacting to the policies that your own government promotes does not impress me.