Last Saturday night, Iran admitted that it had shot down the Ukrainian jetliner by accident. It results in the death of 176 passengers. The admission was made days after the country rejected Western intelligence reports that claimed Tehran was responsible for the plane crash.
An official military statement from Tehran aired on its state's television revealed that Iran was responsible for the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752. The statement noted that 'human error' was the cause of such 'accident' during the tense aftermath of strikes against United States forces in Iraq.
The statement included a public apology from Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and condolences from the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Last Saturday, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded by highlighting that Iran must make an official apology and submit itself to full investigations and compensation for the incident.
Ukraine also urged Iran to cooperate with its own investigators to shed light on the plane crash. Zelenskiy said, Our 45 professionals should have full access and cooperation to establish justice," reported The Guardian.
Rouhani also made a statement through his Twitter account saying, "The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences." The Twitter post was a response to a previous one that claimed Iran's investigators found 'human error' that causes the firing of missiles at the Ukranian passenger jet. The post also showed a promise that the Iranian government would punish those responsible for the incident.
In other news, US President Donald Trump announced his support for Iranian protestors who were enraged upon the determination that Iran was responsible for the plane crash.
Trump expressed his sentiments by urging the government of Iran to allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts about the protests. Moreover, he also warned that this would prevent the possibility of a massacre against peaceful protestors and an Internet shutdown, reported CNBC News.
The report revealed that hundreds of Iranians took to the streets and chanted anti-government slogans against its own leaders. They allegedly tore up pictures of General Qasem Soleimani who was earlier killed by a US drone strike last week.
The protestors were said to have been fuelled by Iran's denial when Western officials blamed the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 in Iran. Iran initially claimed that the allegations were 'a big lie'. Thus, the admission of Iran's president came days after the denial.
