Iran has admitted its military made an “unforgivable
mistake” in unintentionally shooting down a Ukrainian jetliner and killing all
176 people onboard, after days of rejecting western intelligence reports that
pointed to Tehran being responsible.
A military statement on state TV early on Saturday blamed
“human error” for the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 on
Wednesday in the tense aftermath of strikes on US targets. It was followed by
an apology from Iran’s president and condolences from the supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, responded on
Saturday morning that Iran must make an official apology and agree to a full
investigation and compensation, as well as cooperating with Ukraine’s own
investigators. “Our 45 professionals should have full access and cooperation to
establish justice,” a statement from the presidency said.
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The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau ,also said his
country’s focus remained on “closure, accountability, transparency and justice”
for the families of the 57 Canadian victims.
Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, wrote on Saturday:
“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.
The Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, wrote: “A sad
day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by armed forces: human
error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster. Our profound
regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all
victims, and to other affected nations.”
The plane was mistaken for a hostile target after it turned
towards a sensitive military centre of the Revolutionary Guards, according to
the military statement, carried on the official IRNA news agency.
“The military was at its highest level of readiness” amid
the heightened tensions with the US, it said, adding: “In such a condition,
because of human error and in an unintentional way, the flight was hit.”
The military apologised for the disaster and said it would
upgrade its systems to prevent such mistakes in the future. The responsible
parties would be referred to a judicial department within the military and held
accountable, it said.
A fuller explanation and apology would be forthcoming from
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later on Saturday, IRNA news reported, citing an
informed source within the Guards.
The jetliner, a Boeing 737-800, went down on the outskirts
of Tehran during takeoff a few hours after Iran had launched a barrage of
missiles at US forces in Iraq in the early hours of Wednesday.
The strikes on two US bases were in retaliation for the US
drone strike that killed the al-Quds force leader, Qassem Suleimani, in Baghdad
on 3 January – the culmination of a recent series of tit-for-tat attacks that
threatened to push Washington and Tehran into war.
Iran’s acknowledgement of responsibility renews questions of
why authorities did not shut down the country’s main international airport and
its airspace after launching ballistic missile attacks, when they feared US
reprisals were possible.
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