Ukrainian plane .. Iran arrests dozens of protesters and those involved in the disaster

The Iranian authorities announced today the arrest of a number of suspects involved in the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane, as well as the arrest of thirty participants in the protests that have been taking place in the country since the Revolutionary Guards admitted responsibility for the plane's mistake, while the protests continue for the fourth consecutive day denouncing the policy of the authorities against the background of the plane accident.

Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Ismaili said - at a press conference - that some of those accused of playing a role in the disaster of the plane that took place last Wednesday, in which 176 people were on board were arrested, did not specify the suspects or mention the number of detainees who were protesters .

Most of those who were on the plane are Iranians or hold dual citizenship. Canada, Ukraine, Britain and other countries that had nationals on the plane have set a date for tomorrow, Thursday in London, to discuss legal action against Iran because of the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane.

And the Revolutionary Guards admitted last Saturday - after days of denial - its responsibility to shoot down the Ukrainian plane with a missile after taking off from Khomeini Airport near Tehran, by mistake as a result of the state of alert that the Iranian forces had been following after the missile attack launched by Tehran on two military bases in Iraq. In response to Washington's assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, American forces included an air strike near Baghdad airport.

Rouhani's remarks
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised an in-depth investigation into the shooting down of the plane, which he described as an "unforgivable error", and gave an interview broadcast on television today, the latest in a series of apologies from the Iranian leadership.

"As for our people, it is very important about this incident that anyone who was wrong or committed negligence at any level" be referred to the judiciary, and the Iranian president stressed the need for the judiciary to establish a special court headed by a high-ranking judge with dozens of experts.

On the other hand, protesters today - headed by students - organized protests in Tehran against the authorities and the Revolutionary Guards against the backdrop of the plane disaster, and video clips on the media showed violent response by the police to some demonstrations, striking protesters with batons, transporting the wounded and blood in the streets and shooting.

The website of the Iranian “Etemad Melli” party announced that the security authorities arrested Hussein Karoubi, the party’s central council member, who is the son of Mahdi Karoubi, one of the leaders of the Green Movement and the former president of the Iranian parliament, who has been under house arrest since 2011 because of his political positions critical of the leadership.

On the other hand, the Iranian police denied firing on the demonstrators, and the judiciary said that the authorities will show tolerance for the "demonstrators legally".

Investigators meeting
In a related context, a spokesman for the Iranian Aviation Authority, Reza Jafarzadeh, announced that the first meeting of the Iranian Aviation Authority will be held today in Tehran, with the participation of the delegations of the Ukrainian and Canadian aviation authorities.

Jaafarzadeh added that the course of investigations regarding the downing of the Ukrainian plane was discussed in the past days, and it was agreed to continue it.

Yesterday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadim Prestiko said that the five countries (Canada, France, the United States, Sweden and Afghanistan) whose nationals were killed on the plane, will meet in London on Thursday to discuss legal action, explaining, “We will meet personally in London to discuss ways of following the situation, including Legal methods. "