Iran admits
shooting down Ukrainian airliner 'unintentionally'
‘Human
error’ blamed as admission comes after initial denials were contradicted by
western allies’ intelligence
Bethan
McKernan in Istanbul and agencies
Sat 11 Jan
2020 07.16 GMTFirst published on Sat 11 Jan 2020 03.59 GMT
Iran has
admitted that its military made an “unforgivable mistake” in unintentionally
shooting down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 people onboard, after days
of rejecting western intelligence reports that pointed to Tehran being
responsible.
A military
statement on Saturday morning via state TV 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.
Ukraine’s
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded on Saturday morning that Iran must make
an official apology and agree to full investigation and compensation, as well
as co-operating with Ukraine’s own investigators. “Our 45 professionals should
have full access and co-operation to establish justice.”
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.”
Hassan
Rouhani
✔
@HassanRouhani
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://twitter.com/HassanRouhani/status/1215856039997984768 …
Hassan
Rouhani
✔
@HassanRouhani
Armed
Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired
due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death
of 176 innocent people.
Investigations
continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable
mistake. #PS752
4,078
5:43 AM -
Jan 11, 2020
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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 Guard, the military statement carried on the
offical IRNA news agency said.
“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 a 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.
Javad Zarif
✔
@JZarif
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.
💔
13.7K
5:05 AM -
Jan 11, 2020
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14.3K people
are talking about this
Iran’s
acknowledgement of responsibility was likely to renew questions of why
authorities did not shut down the country’s main international airport and its
airspace after the ballistic missile attack, when they feared US reprisals.
It also
undermines the credibility of information provided by senior Iranian officials
so far. As recently as Friday, Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the national aviation
department, told reporters with certainty that a missile had not caused the
crash, while on Thursday, cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei dismissed reports of a
missile, saying they rub salt on a painful wound for families of the victims.
Zelenskiy,
the Ukrainian president, said: “Even before the termination of the
International Commission, Iran has pleaded guilty to crashing the Ukrainian
plane. But we insist on full admission of guilt. We expect from Iran assurances
of readiness for full and open investigation, bringing those responsible to
justice, returning the bodies of the dead, payment of compensation, official
apologies through diplomatic channels.”
The
jetliner, a Boeing 737, 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 retaliation for the US drone strike that killed the
powerful 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 for the crash was likely to inflame public
sentiment against authorities after Iranians had rallied around their leaders
in the wake of Suleimani’s killing. The general was seen as a national icon and
hundreds of thousands of Iranians had turned out for funeral processions across
the country.
But the
vast majority of the plane victims were Iranians or Iranian-Canadians, and the
crash came a few weeks after authorities quashed nationwide protests ignited by
a hike in fuel prices.
“This is the right step for the Iranian
government to admit responsibility, and it gives people a step toward closure
with this admission,” said Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian-Canadian in
western Canada who lost a number of friends in the crash.
“I think
the investigation would have disclosed it whether they admitted it or not. This
will give them an opportunity to save face.”
Iran had
denied for several days that missiles could have downed the aircraft and
instead blamed mechanical malfunction.
Western
security officials began briefing on Thursday afternoon that intelligence
suggested the plane had been accidentally shot down by two surface-to-air
missiles fired by the Iranian military.
A preliminary
report released by Iran’s civil aviation authority the day after the crash
found that the pilots of the doomed plane did not make radio contact but had
attempted to turn back to the airport before the plane went down.
Air crash
experts have raised serious concerns since the accident over the handling of
the crash site, such as the removal of debris, sparking fears that Tehran has
sought to eliminate evidence from the area.
Iran has
invited investigators from Canada, Ukraine and Boeing to visit the accident
site on the outskirts of Tehran and said it would also welcome representatives
of other countries whose citizens died on the flight.
The plane,
en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine
crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 57
Canadians, 11 Ukrainians and three Britons.
Iran had
said on Thursday it would download the information from voice and flight data
recorders, known as black boxes, to determine what had happened, although it
said the process could take one to two months.
The
Ukrainian foreign minister, Vadym Prystaiko, said on Friday that Kyiv had been
given access to the flight recorders and planned to start analysing their
content.
Experts
said mounting international scrutiny would have made it all but impossible to
hide signs of a missile strike during any investigation and Tehran may have
felt it best to make a swift policy reversal than battle rising criticism
abroad.
With
Reuters and the Associated Press
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