US says Iran sought help over president crash

The State Department said Iran, which has had no diplomatic relations with Washington since the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution, reached out afer Raisi's aging chopper crashed in foggy weather Sunday. "We were asked by the Iranian government for assistance," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. "We said that we would be willing to assist -- something that we would do with respect to any government in this situation," he said. "Ultimately, largely for logistical reasons, we were unable to provide that assistance.