State Dept denies Iran's rare request for US assistance after deadly helicopter crash: 'Logistical reasons'

The United States ultimately denied Iran’s rare request for American assistance following the deadly helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

At a press conference on Monday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. was "asked for assistance by the Iranian Government."

"We did make clear to them that we would offer assistance, as we would do in response to any request by a foreign government in this sort of situation," he told reporters. "And ultimately, we were not able to provide that assistance."

Pressed for more information about Tehran’s request, Miller declined to get into details. "We said that we would be willing to assist. It’s something that we would do with respect to any government in this situation. Ultimately, largely for logistical reasons, we weren’t able to provide that assistance," he reiterated.

IRAN'S PRESIDENT, FOREIGN MINISTER, OTHER OFFICIALS CONFIRMED DEAD IN HELICOPTER CRASH

The U.S. extended official condolences for the death of Iran’s president and foreign minister over the weekend and also participated in a moment of silence for Raisi at the United Nations Security Council.

Defending the move Monday, Miller said, "It is a step that the United States takes, recognizing that people have families, and in no way – in no way at all undermining our fundamental view of the Iranian regime and its crimes against its own people and our support for the Iranian people."

He described Raisi as "a brutal participant in the repression of the Iranian people for nearly four decades" who was "involved in numerous horrific human rights abuses, including playing a key role in the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political prisoners