US EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES OVER IRAN AIR CRASH
Agence France Presse
July 15 2009
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US government on Wednesday expressed its
sympathy for relatives of the 168 people who were killed when their
Caspian Airlines flight crashed in Iran earlier in the day.
Washington "extends it condolences to the families of those who
lost their lives in today’s crash," read a brief statement by State
Department spokesman Ian Kelly.
"We are working through the US embassy in Yerevan and the Swiss
Protecting Power in Iran to determine whether any American citizens
were on board," the statement said.
The United States does not have diplomatic ties with Iran. Its
interests are represented by Swiss diplomats in Tehran.
Witnesses and Iranian state media said the plane was ablaze before
smashing into the ground and exploding near a village northeast of
Tehran, shortly after taking off from the capital’s international
airport.