Agence France Presse — English
February 6, 2005

Iran denies responsibility for Georgian PM’s death

TEHRAN

Iran moved Sunday to deny any role or responsibility in the death of
Georgian prime minister Zurab Zhvania, killed by carbon monoxide
fumes from a heater made in the Islamic republic.

“Many such heaters were exported to Georgia, and many are being used
in Iran.

But nobody has ever died,” insisted foreign ministry spokesman Hamid
Reza Asefi. He said reports on the circumstances of the death
“indicate a faulty installation”.

“Of course we feel sorry over the death of the Georgian prime
minister, and we have sent a message of condolence,” Asefi said. “It
was a sad accident. We have good relations with Georgia and we were
truly saddened.”

The 41-year-old prime minister, who was due to be buried later
Sunday, was found by his bodyguards slumped over a table in an
apartment on the outskirts of Tbilisi early Thursday — sending shock
waves through the former Soviet republic.

He appeared to have succumbed to carbon monoxide fumes from an
inadequately ventilated room heater — manufactured by the Nik-Kala
heater factory in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran.

Also denying any responsibility was Ali Soleimani, Nik-Kala’s
managing director.

“Not only the Georgians but most residents of the new republics do
not have the culture of using gas heaters,” Soleimani told the Shargh
newspaper.

“The Georgian and Russian officials are the ones to blame. We have
published manuals in Armenian and Russian giving the right
instructions. We have emphasized that the heaters are to be installed
by our representatives in those countries.”