Ukrainian plane .. Tehran reveals the identity of the downed and protesters denouncing the government

The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Air Force-Space revealed the identity of the launcher who shot down the Ukrainian civilian plane over Tehran last Wednesday, killing all its passengers, after a formal denial of the targeting hypothesis that lasted for three days.

Brigadier Amir Ali Haji Zadeh stated that a soldier fired a missile towards the plane without receiving confirmation of the launch order due to a "interference in the communications", adding that the soldier believed that the plane was a "cruise missile" and he had "10 seconds" to make the decision, declaring that he was responsible for dropping the plane .

Iranian officials have also apologized for what happened through their Twitter accounts.

President Hassan Rouhani described the incident as a tragedy, and said that the internal investigation of the armed forces concluded that rockets were fired as a result of a human error, causing the plane to crash and killing 176 innocent people. "The investigation into the causes of this great tragedy and the unforgivable error will continue to be investigated," he added.

Foreign Minister Muhammad Jawad Zarif wrote that the error occurred during a period of crisis caused by the adventures of the United States, which led to the catastrophe: "We express our deep regret, our apologies and our condolences to our people, the families of the victims and the rest of the affected countries."

On the other hand, the office of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinsky confirmed that his Iranian counterpart had made an apology on behalf of his country.

Zelinsky said that his country insists on the need for Tehran to admit guilt, expressing the hope that Iran responsible for the accident will be brought to justice, return the bodies of the victims, pay compensation and provide an official apology.

The reformists denounced it
On Saturday, reformist politicians in Iran denounced their countries' delay in declaring responsibility for the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane in Tehran last week, after insisting on denial and lies at first.

"I know how the affairs of the state are going, but I could not believe that lying is so common in Iran," reformist politician Mustafa Tajzadeh said in a statement posted on Twitter.

With condemnation, Tajzadeh, who held many political positions in the past, asked: Why and how did we get to this situation?

Likewise, Iranian reformist Mahmoud Sadiqi, a member of the Iranian parliament, denounced what he considered to have been the intentional lies at first from his country's authorities regarding the reasons for the crash.

Sadiqi addressed his country's officials and said on Twitter, "You did not mention the real death toll during the demonstrations that took place in the country last November, and you would have hidden the reason for the downing of the plane if you could."

Avoid Iranian airspace
Meanwhile, the European Aviation Safety Agency called yesterday to avoid Iranian airspace, after Tehran claimed responsibility for shooting down the Ukrainian plane following a human error.

"We are asking airlines to avoid Iranian airspace until further notice," the agency, based in Cologne, Germany, said in a statement.

She added that this is a very dynamic situation, and a new evaluation will be made in cooperation with the European Union Commission and the member states of the European Union early next week on flying in Iranian airspace.

Protests
On the other hand, Iranian media and accounts broadcast video clips of university students and citizens who gathered in the center of the capital, Tehran, to demand the dismissal of all officials who caused the accident in the Ukrainian plane crash.

The protesters - who gathered near Amir Kabir University in the center of the capital - raised banners and chanted slogans denouncing the government policy and the way officials deal with the incident, and their delay in announcing the truth and the circumstances of what happened.

Reuters reported that its semi-official Iranian counterpart, "Fars News", spoke in a "rare report" of anti-government protests after the Revolutionary Guards acknowledged the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane.

According to the report of the Iranian Agency, the street demonstrators, whose numbers were estimated at about 1,000, also tore down pictures of the commander of the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards, Major General Qassim Soleimani, who was killed by Washington in a plane airliner.

After the angry demonstration launched anti-regime slogans, the Special Police Forces intervened and blocked the roads leading to the demonstration site, and prevented citizens from going to it, according to the Anatolia Agency.

US President Donald Trump has endorsed these protests and wrote on Twitter that the United States is closely monitoring popular anti-government protests in Iran, assuring the Iranian people that the administration supports him.

"To the brave and long-suffering people of Iran, I stand beside you since the beginning of my presidency, and my administration will continue to stand by your side ... we follow your protests closely, and our courage inspires us," Trump told the Iranians - in a message in both Persian and English on his Twitter page.

For its part, the British government condemned the arrest of its ambassador to Tehran, Rob McCaire, after his participation in the demonstrations, and considered it a violation of international law. "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without justification or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," said British Foreign Secretary Dominic Rap.

Official recognition
And yesterday, Saturday, the Iranian Staff announced in a statement that its air defense system shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane following a human error the moment it passed over a sensitive military zone.

This came after Tehran initially denied the plane was downed by a missile, and said it had convincing evidence in this regard.

A Ukrainian "Boeing" passenger plane crashed on January 8, killing 176 people - 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians, 11 Ukraine, 10 Swedes, 4 Afghans, 3 Germans and 3 Britons.