Iran sends down Ukrainian plane's black box to France

Iran has sent black box of Ukrainian passenger jet that its armed forces mistakenly shot down in January to France for reing, an Iranian semi-official news ncy said Saturday. Iran accidentally shot down Boeing 737-800, killing all 176 people aboard, after mistaking it for an incoming missile.

Iranian armed forces h been bracing for a counterattack after launching missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq in response to killing of its top commander, Gen. Qassim Soleimani, in a U.S. strike earlier in January. ILNA's report quotes Mohsen Baharvand, an aide to Iran’s foreign minister, as saying downed jet's black box was transported to Paris on Friday, accompanied by Iranian civil aviation and judicial officials.

Baharvand also said black box will be re in Paris on Monday. Iran has been in intense negotiations with Ukraine, Cana and or nations that h citizens aboard downed plane, and which have demanded a thorough investigation into incident. Iran initially blamed crash on technical problems and only ackwledged shooting down plane days later.