Published 11:48 IST, January 11th 2020
Full Statement: Iran says it 'unintentionally' shot down Ukraine jet amid tensions with US
In a massive admission on Saturday, Iran amid tensions with the United States, has accepted that the Ukranian jet shot down on January 8 was done by mistake
In a massive admission on Saturday, Iran amid tensions with the United States, has accepted that the Ukranian jet shot down on January 8 was done by mistake. Issuing a statement, Iran's military on state television said that the incident happened due to "human error." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, taking to Twitter, has said that it is an "unforgivable mistake." He also said that "investigation on this great tragedy continues."
Here's the full statement that Iran's military issued on state TV:
A military statement carried by state media said that the plane was mistaken for a “hostile target” after it turned toward a “sensitive military center” of the Revolutionary Guard. “The military was at its highest level of readiness amid the heightened tensions with the US. In such a condition, because of human error and in an unintentional way, the flight was hit.” It apologised for the disaster and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent such mistakes in the future. The responsible parties would be referred to a judicial department within the military and held accountably, the military said.
Meanwhile, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani issued a statement
Iran's Foreign Minister also termed the day as a "sad day". Taking to Twitter, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that "human error" at a time of "US adventurism" has caused the disaster. On behalf of the country, he extended regrets and apologies. He also said that this was revealed after internal investigations.
Ukrainian aircraft shot down
A Ukrainian aircraft with at least 176 people aboard crashed on January 8 due to technical glitches just after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport, according to Iranian media reports. As per the reports, all 176 passengers on board the PS752 airliner had died. A spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, Reza Jafarzadeh had told the media that rescue teams were immediately sent to the spot near the airport where the aircraft belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed but they could not assist since the place was ablaze.
According to media reports citing Ali Kashani, a senior public relations official at the airport, the plane was heading towards Kiev and had 167 passengers and nine crew on board. The Boeing 737 took off early Wednesday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post that he would cancel the rest of his trip to Oman and would return to Kiev due to the crash.
This came amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran after US airstrike killed Iran's second most important person - commander of Quds Force of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qasem Soleimani. While Iran vowed to take "revenge", and shot a missile at US airbase in Iraq, US President Donald said that Iran and the US can work together for world peace, pointing ISIS as a common enemy. However, on Friday, the US imposed new sanctions on Iran.
(Inputs from AP)
Updated 12:33 IST, January 11th 2020