Iran admits accidentally shooting down Ukrainian passenger jet, promises jail and compensations

The Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed after takeoff from Tehran was downed due to “human error” after it flew too close to a military site and triggered a missile launch amid a standoff with the US, the Iranian Army said.

The Army General Staff stressed that the tragic mistake was made amid the flare-up of tensions with Washington. The nation’s air defenses were placed on alert and ready to “respond to possible threats of the highest level,” after US President Donald Trump warned that the Pentagon would strike targets on Iranian soil if US citizens or assets were attacked by Iran.

On Wednesday, the Iranian Army fired a volley of ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house American troops. It was a retaliation in response to a US drone strike, which killed top Iranian military chief Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad’s airport.

For several hours after the missile attacks, the army was detecting increased activity of US warplanes around the country and received alerts of possible airstrikes on “strategic sites” across Iran, the General Staff said.

The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which took off from Tehran’s airport the same day, was approaching “an important military site” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while traveling at the altitude of a “hostile flight,” the statement noted.

Under these circumstances, the aircraft was accidentally shot down due to a human error.

The General Staff said that a further investigation will determine all the causes of the incident and those responsible would face consequences.

All 176 people on board the airliner were killed in the crash. Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian nationals.

‘I wish I was dead’: Senior IRGC commander accepts responsibility for downing Ukrainian jet, says it was mistaken for missile

A top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officer has revealed that the Ukrainian jet was mistaken for an incoming cruise missile and that the commander of the anti-aircraft unit had only 10 seconds to make the decision.

“After hearing about the crash of the Ukrainian plane, I wished to die”, Hajizadeh said during a press conference on Saturday.

I wish I had died and not witnessed such an accident

The commander explained that the incident had occurred as the country was bracing for potential US strikes and that the “likelihood of conflict” between the two nations has been “unprecedented” since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

#BREAKING New footage shows the moment which the missile fired in the direction of the Ukrainian plane in #Iran pic.twitter.com/FyKXv1V53A

— Guy Elster (@guyelster) January 11, 2020

According to an early assessment, the Ukrainian plane was erroneously identified as an incoming cruise missile, which resulted in the tragedy.

The commander of the anti-aircraft unit had sought confirmation for the launch from his superiors, but experienced communication problems and had to make the decision –which turned out to be wrong– on his own. The officer only had 10 seconds to make the decision, Hajizadeh added.

Hajizadeh stated that the IRGC notified the authorities that it had likely hit the plane back right after the incident, yet this information was not disclosed to the public while the crash site was being investigated. Neither IRGC nor the country’s military sought to hide the incident, the due procedure was to be followed, he explained.

Iran’s Rouhani vows to ‘identify & prosecute’ all responsible for ‘disastrous mistake’ that led to Ukrainian jet downing

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has pledged to find and punish all those involved in the unintentional shooting down of a Ukrainian aircraft over Tehran, calling it a “disastrous mistake.”

An internal investigation has “concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane and death of 176 innocent people,” Rouhani said in a tweet.

Investigations continue to identify and prosecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake.

“My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families,” the president said in another post, offering “sincerest condolences” over the tragedy.

The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake.

My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences. https://t.co/4dkePxupzm

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 11, 2020

In the aftermath of the incident, Rouhani arranged for “compensation” payments to the victims’ families, and ordered reforms of the country’s air defense system to prevent similar disasters in the future.

Such a sad tragedy but at least they killed their own, not sure if any of the passengers on board, except the Ukrainian pilot and the stewardesses, were anything else than Iranians. Even those so-called Canadians were all Iranians who immigrated to Canada, as you can see in this case (take a look at the passport):

Source

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