WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will need to obtain a licence from the Treasury Department to participate in the investigation of the Iran Boeing 737 crash due to the country's sanctions against Tehran, NTSB's chief of media relations, Christopher O’Neil, revealed, adding that the process for getting such a license may take over a year.
"Correct, [we need a license to participate in the probe] because of the embargo", O’Neil said, adding that obtaining the license would be "one of several processes that need to be coordinated within the US government."
According to him, existing embargoes complicate the agency's participation in the investigation. He added that this concerned not only Iran but also other similar cases.
The Treasury Department also confirmed that the law required that licences be issued for such cases.
"Treasury has the ability to authorise activity that would otherwise be prohibited through the issuance of both General and Specific OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] Licences, based on the individual facts and circumstances of the request. Treasury does not comment on individual licencing matters, specific applications, or licences issued," the statement said.