A passenger plane of the Ukraine International Airlines company crashed near Tehran was shot down by Iranian air defense systems due to a human error. This statement was made by the President of the Islamic Republic Hassan Rouhani.
“An internal investigation by the Armed Forces found that, unfortunately, missiles fired due to human error led to a terrible disaster for the Ukrainian plane and the death of 176 innocent people,” he wrote on Twitter.
Armed Forces' internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people.
Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake. # PS752
“The investigation will continue in order to identify and prosecute those responsible for this terrible tragedy and unforgivable mistake,” the president emphasized.
The head of state added that Iran deeply regrets the mistake made and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the tragedy. Rouhani instructed to take all necessary measures to pay compensation to the relatives of the victims, as well as provide comprehensive consular assistance in identifying and repatriating non-Iranian victims of the crash.
The President also stated the need to eliminate all the shortcomings of the air defense system in order to avoid the recurrence of such disasters in the future.
As the Iranian president explained, the tragedy occurred “in an atmosphere of threats and intimidation” by the United States after the assassination by the US military of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Kassem Suleimani.
“The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran were on full alert, which, unfortunately, led to this terrible disaster that claimed the lives of dozens of innocent people due to human error and erroneous opening of fire,” Rouhani added.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has instructed the authorities to release the results of the crash investigation.
In turn, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said that we are talking about a human error made against the backdrop of US activities in the region.
“A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of the internal investigation of the Armed Forces: a human error made during the crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster, ”Zarif wrote on Twitter.
A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces:
Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster
Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations.
💔
The diplomat apologized and condolences to the Iranian people, the families of the victims of the tragedy and the countries whose citizens died in a plane crash.
Recall that on the morning of January 8, shortly after departure from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, the Boeing 737-800 of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) crashed. There were 176 people aboard PS752, including nine crew members. No one survived.
According to the Ukrainian side, most of the dead were Iranian citizens - 82 people. In addition, on board were 63 passengers from Canada, ten citizens of Sweden, four Afghans, three British, three Germans. 11 Ukrainians also became victims of the tragedy: nine crew members and two passengers.
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UIA representatives said that the crashed Boeing was fully operational, and the pilots were highly qualified. According to the carrier, the last maintenance of the liner took place on January 6.
From the preliminary report of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, it followed that the pilots of the crashed airliner did not report an emergency on board and attempted to return to the airport when they encountered technical difficulties. At the same time, eyewitnesses reported that the fuselage of an aircraft in the air was engulfed in fire.
The Iranian military claims that they took the UIA airliner for a military aircraft, which caused the tragedy. From the message published by the IRIB state broadcasting company of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, it follows that the country's armed forces were in a state of full combat readiness.
"Due to the threats of the criminal president and the US military command to hit many targets in Iran and taking into account the unprecedented air activity in the region, the country's armed forces were put on high alert to respond to possible threats," the statement said.
It is noted that under these conditions, the flight path of the Boeing 737-800 coming from Tehran airport passed in the immediate vicinity of the important IRGC facility. The height of the movement and the shape of the liner were like an “enemy plane”, after which a fatal error occurred.
Commenting on the published conclusion, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev insists that Tehran will fully admit guilt for the plane crash.
“We expect from Iran assurances of readiness for a full and open investigation, bringing the perpetrators to justice, returning the bodies of the dead, paying compensation, official apologies through diplomatic channels,” Zelensky said.
The head of state expressed the hope that the subsequent investigation would take place without artificial delays and barriers, and 45 Ukrainian specialists who arrived in Iran would be able to get full access to the data to establish justice.
According to the head of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, in the current situation, Tehran’s recognition of the error (albeit not immediately) and the Iranian authorities expressed regret in what happened is “worthy to be accepted.”
“And if the deliberate actions of the Iranian military are not proved by deciphering the black boxes and the further work of the investigation, and there are no logical grounds for that, the incident should be closed on that. With the hope that the lessons will be learned and measures will be taken by all interested parties, ”said Senator Interfax.
Aggravation of US-Iran Relations
The tragedy with the Ukrainian passenger plane occurred against the backdrop of the worsening relations between the US and Iran. On the night of January 3, Washington launched a missile attack on Iraqi territory, killing Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Kassem Suleimani in a suburb of Baghdad.
Tehran responded to the assassination of a warlord with a series of missile strikes on the locations of US troops in Iraq as part of Operation Martyr Suleimani. It is noteworthy that this attack did not cause significant damage and, according to the American side, did not lead to casualties. Moreover, US President Donald Trump admitted that the shelling could be planned in such a way as to cause minimal damage.
“We were very pleased when we learned that no one was killed or even injured. Perhaps they didn’t want to hit them or something else happened, ”the head of the White House said in an interview with ABC.