A small plane of Iran crashed in the Persian Gulf and all four crew members on board were killed, official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Bodies of all the dead have been found, said the report, adding that the plane was on a test flight when it crashed in the east of Kish Island on Monday evening.

A committee has been set up and dispatched to the site to study the cause of the incident, according to IRNA.

Iran has seen several air disasters involving both civil and military use aircraft in recent years.

In the latest incident in January 2011, an air crash near the airport of the northwestern city of Urmia killed 77, including four foreigners.

Experts said the US-imposed sanctions against Iran, which prevented its allies from selling aircraft or aircraft parts to the country, have undermined safety standards within Iran's civil and military aviation fleet with the likelihood of further air disasters.