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BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
Iran finally admits shooting down Ukrainian airliner killing 176 but blames ‘aggressive’ US for ‘catastrophic mistake’
IRAN has claimed it "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176 people but have blamed the "aggressive" US for the "catastrophic mistake."
The on Tuesday, hours after Tehran launched a barrage of rockets against US targets in Iraq.
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And now, after repeated denials, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has admitted his forces gunned down the civilian aircraft because they mistook it for an American fighter plane.
In a statement, he said: "In an atmosphere of threats and intimidation by the aggressive American regime against the Iranian nation following the martyrdom of general Qasem Soleimani and with the aim of defending against possible US Army attacks, the Islamic Republic of Iran's Armed Forces were on full alert, when unfortunately a human error and miscalculated shooting caused a major catastrophe and dozens of innocent people fell victim to it."
The Iranian leader also offered his "deep condolences" to the families of the victims and said the country's Foreign Ministry would work to identify and bring bodies back to their countries.
Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, has also offered condolences over the plane disaster and called for an investigation.
Earlier military officials reportedly told Iranian state TV they "unintentionally" shot down Ukrainian jetliner they mistook the jet as a hostile target after it turned toward a sensitive center of the Revolutionary Guard.
"The military was at its highest level of readiness," said their statement, referencing the heightened tensions with the United States.
"In such a condition, because of human error and in a unintentional way, the flight was hit," it read.
The Iranian military apologized for the disaster, promising to upgrade their systems to prevent such mistakes in the future.
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They said those responsible for the strike on the plane would be prosecuted.
"A sad day," Iran's .
"Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster."
The Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Iran's acknowledgement of responsibility for the crash is likely to inflame public sentiment against authorities following General Soleimani's killing last week.
What we know so far:
- Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed at 6.14 am on Tuesday just after leaving Tehran bound for Kiev
- It came down three hours after Iran launched missiles at US bases in Iraq
- Pictures of the wreckage showed telltale shrapnel marks indicating an explosion
- Iran initially blamed an engine malfunction and refused to hand over black box flight recorders
- Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson said intelligence points to an Iranian surface-to-air missile
- On Saturday morning, Iran finally took responsibility for shooting the jetliner, blaming 'human error'
The beloved general died in a drone strike ordered by President Trump was seen as a national icon in Iran.
Soleimani was killed days after Iran-backed militias attacked the US embassy in Iraqi capital Baghdad.
The jet disaster crash comes just weeks after Iranian authorities quashed nationwide protests ignited by a hike in gasoline prices.
The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members, including 82 Iranians, at least 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians.
After the crash, bulldozers were pictured clearing away debris at the crash site.
It was feared the machines could destroy precious clues as to what really happened before international crash investigators have a chance to examine them.
Iran’s ambassador to the UK dismissed the use of bulldozers to clear the crash site as "absolutely absurd", reports.
Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian-Canadian in western Canada who lost a number of friends in the crash, said Iran's admission was the right step.
"I think the investigation would have disclosed it whether they admitted it or not," he said. "This will give them an opportunity to save face."
This comes after Iran refused to release the two black box flight recorders found at the crash site, saying they will “handle” the data themselves.
The boxes contain data and cockpit communications from the plane and are meant to be indestructible but officials said they were damaged.
Satellite data detected two surface-to-air missiles being launched just minutes after the Boeing 737 took off, the US government says.
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Video footage showed at least one of the rockets streaking across the night sky in Tehran – before the jet explodes in a fireball killing all 176 people on board.
The explosion took place near the last known position of the Ukraine International Airlines plane over Parand, southwest of Tehran, at 6.14am on Tuesday.
An earlier video taken from the security camera on a house shows a huge explosion on the ground and debris flying past the camera.
After US spies told him the plane was shot down, Donald Trump said: "Somebody could have made a mistake."
Iran continued to deny it shot the plane down until finally admitting their involvement in the crash on Saturday morning.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Britain's Boris Johnson also said the intelligence points to Iranian surface-to-air rockets.
Previously, Government spokesman Ali Rabiei denied it on state TV, describing any claims to the contrary as "psychological warfare against Iran."
Unverified pictures earlier shared on social media claim to show parts of an anti-aircraft missile allegedly found near the crash site in Parand.
It is similar to the nose cone of a Russian-made Tor surface-to-air missile.
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Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1s to Iran in 2007 as part of a $700million contract signed in December 2005.
Iran has previously displayed the missiles in military parades.
Others claiming to live nearby said they heard loud noises coming from Parandak army base at around the time of the disaster.
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Missile expert 100% certain an anti-aircraft weapon took down Ukrainian plane over Iran
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