Iran said Saturday, local time, that it “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian jet over Tehran earlier this week that left all 176 onboard dead.
The statement from Iran’s military came after Tehran had repeatedly maintained that it had nothing to do with the crash. The country’s military said that the incident was due to “human error,” according to a translation from The Associated Press.
The jet, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, crashed this week shortly after taking off from an airport in Tehran.
Iranian officials spent days denying any role in the crash, but faced increasing scrutiny after the U.S. and several other countries said intelligence pointed to it being shot down.
The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries on its way to Kyiv.
Shortly before the crash, Iran had launched ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops in response to last week’s killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The statement also comes after President Trump said Thursday that the plane crash could have been a mistake, echoing other U.S. officials who suggested it was an accident by Iranian officials.
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#BREAKING: Iran says it "unintentionally" shot down Ukrainian plane https://t.co/P9v74Dr7OM pic.twitter.com/SzUU2I4XrQ
— The Hill (@thehill) January 11, 2020
BREAKING: #IRAN admits shooting down the Ukrainian Airplane says human error, accidental, the plane turned toward an IRGC military base.#IranPlaneCrash
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020
Iran is an evil, terrorist regime. None of this is surprising. https://t.co/RkzpuMKZdV
— David French (@DavidAFrench) January 11, 2020
It turns out plenty of Iranians loathed Soleimani, opposed the terrorism he spread, and don’t like the regime lying to them about shooting down a passenger plane. And they’re risking quite a bit by protesting publicly — https://t.co/c5P2VmLyHB
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 11, 2020
#BREAKING: Reports: British ambassador in Tehran arrested tonight while photographing the protests against the downing of the Ukrainian plane
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) January 11, 2020
Perhaps people should pause before assuming that massive funerals orchestrated by authoritarian regimes provide solid evidence of national unity. https://t.co/FenKQL5rIU
— David French (@DavidAFrench) January 11, 2020
#BREAKING: UK's @DominicRaab: detention of UK's ambassador is a flagrant violation of international law https://t.co/eC82Jvg00k pic.twitter.com/qLIVVgq5e1
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) January 11, 2020
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