Iran Acted With Dignity by Pleading Guilty in Ukrainian Plane Crash - Russian Lawmaker

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2020) Iran did not bury its head in the sand and acted honorably by officially admitting guilt in the Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane crash, Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, told Sputnik on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Iran admitted that the Ukrainian plane had been unintentionally shot down by the country's military, who confused it for a hostile target.

"Now Iran would have to apologize officially and pay compensations to the victims' families. Western propaganda will crack down on the country, pointing to its guilt and Iran's danger," Dzhabarov said, noting that by having officially admitted its involvement in the passenger plane crash, Iran acted with dignity.

The lawmaker added that leaders of western countries started talking about the possibility of a missile attack right after the crash occurred, based on the data from radars.

On Wednesday, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in the vicinity of Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport shortly after takeoff. All 176 people on board were killed, including citizens of Iran, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Canada, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed to continue the investigation and expressed his condolences to all the mourning families.