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 Boeing 737 flight came down on Tuesday, hours after Tehran launched a barrage of rockets against US targets in Iraq.
"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.
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.
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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