Iran pleads guilty for downed UIA plane
Iranian authorities admitted that the Ukrainian International Airlines plane was shot down by the Iranian military by mistake. This is stated in the report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, the IRNA agency writes.
A statement by the General Staff said that during the disaster that occurred several hours after Iran bombarded the US military bases in Iraq, the number of flights of American military aircraft increased significantly.
"This circumstance has caused increased sensitivity among the air defense units. As a result of human error, this aircraft was accidentally shot down, which, unfortunately, led to the death of compatriots and foreign citizens," the general staff said.
The ministry added that the Ukrainian airliner approached one of the important sites of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and "resembled an enemy target in shape and height of flight."
According to the Press.TV channel, the General Staff also said that at the time of the incident, the Iranian armed forces were on high alert.
The agency emphasized that it stated that those responsible for the downing of a passenger plane would be “immediately” brought to military justice.
Source: DW