Iranian Military Says Asked To Halt Air Traffic During Strike On US Base

Iranian Military Says Asked to Halt Air Traffic During Strike on US Base

The Iranian military had requested for civilian flights to be suspended during the strike on US Ain Al Asad military base in Iraq shortly before the Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane crashed, but this was not fulfilled for a number of reasons, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) aerospace force commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Saturday

DOHA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2020) The Iranian military had requested for civilian flights to be suspended during the strike on US Ain Al Asad military base in Iraq shortly before the Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane crashed, but this was not fulfilled for a number of reasons, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) aerospace force commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said 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.

"We demanded to halt aircraft traffic during the strike on Ain Al Asad military base, but this did not happen for a number of reasons," Hajizadeh said, as aired by Al Jazeera broadcaster.

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.

Following the Saturday's statement, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed to continue the investigation and expressed his condolences to all the mourning families. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was expecting Iran to recognize its full responsibility for the plane crash, including ensuring a complete and open investigation, prosecuting those responsible, returning the bodies, paying compensations and apologizing officially.