Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has accepted full responsibility for firing a missile in error at a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176 people. The plane flew near a sensitive military site at a time when tensions in the region were already high.
Iran authorities said on January 11 that Iran’s military "unintentionally" fired a missile at a Ukrainian passenger plane because of “human error.”
Citing military’s statement, Iranian media reports say the Ukraine International Airlines airliner had flown close to a sensitive military site when it was brought down.
Later on Saturday, Iranian investigators reportedly said that the aircraft's black box recorders would be sent to France for analysis. France was decided on as a neutral party after it was determined that Iran does not have the necessary technology and Canada, France, and the US all refused to send equipment to Iran.
Iranian Fars News Agency (FNA) reported that the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's highest authority, was told about the cause of the crash on Friday and, following a meeting with security officials, ordered the information to be shared publicly. Khamenei called on the military to “pursue probable shortcomings and guilt in the painful incident.”
Shortly after, a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said on state television that his aerospace unit takes full responsibility for the crash, according to FNA.
Recall, the plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Iran on Friday, including penalties on Iran’s metals and some senior leaders, following Tehran’s attack on U.S. military bases.
Citing the U.S. Treasury Department, Bloomberg says the sanctions target steel, aluminum, copper and iron, as well as eight senior Iranian officials and sectors of the economy, such as construction, manufacturing, textiles and mining.
