Tehran to Send Black Boxes of Downed Ukrainian Jet to France on July 20 - Minister

TEHRAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2020) Tehran will send the flight recorders of a Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet that was shot down near the Iranian capital to France on July 20, Deputy Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Mohsen Baharvand said on Tuesday.

The deputy foreign minister has previously said that the decoding of the black boxes will begin in France on this date but confirmed in an interview with Iran's Mizan Online news portal that they will also be sent to the European country on July 20.

"Yes, the black box will be sent to France on July 20," Baharvand told the portal.

Kiev has put increasing pressure on Tehran to hand over the flight recorders and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to take the case to the international courts if Iran does not comply with its demands.

Along with the return of the jet's black boxes, the Ukrainian government has called on Iran to issue an official apology and provide compensation to the families of the victims.

On January 8, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft was downed shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board. The Iranian authorities said at a later date that the jet had been unintentionally shot down after military personnel confused it with a hostile target amid fears of US strikes.