Iranian President has said that his country "deeply regrets" the shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner, which he described as "a great tragedy & unforgivable mistake".
TEHRAN: (Urdu Point/Pakistan Point News-Jan 11, 2020) Iran on Saturday admitted that Ukrainian airliner was shot down by its armed forces unintentionally and was a big mistake here that claimed 176 lives including 63 Canadians.
According to the official statement ran by the Iranian media, the plane was mistaken by the Iranian army for a hostile plane was hit as the threats were at the highest level at that time.
Ukrainian plane which took off from Imam Khoimeni International Aiport in Tehran was targeted hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its stop general in an American airstrike.
The Iranian media said that the plane had flown close to a sensitive military centre and was mistaken for a hostile target. They said that the Iranian army was at its highest state of readiness amid the US tensions.
Iranian leadership said that they would upgrade the system to prevent such mistakes in future. The military statement that was run by the local media said that those were responsible for this would be held accountable; and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
Taking to Twitter, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country "deeply regrets" the shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner, which he described as "a great tragedy & unforgivable mistake".
"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," said the Iranian President.
