Iran announced Friday night (Saturday, local time) that its army "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian plane that was damaged this week causing the deaths of 176 people on board, reports the AP agency.
In a statement transmitted by Iranian state television, the country blamed a "human error" for the demolition. The government had denied for several days that a missile had had any responsibility.
The plane, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, fell on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff this Wednesday.
The aircraft collapsed only hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against two military bases that house US troops in Iraq, in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani during a US air strike in Baghdad.
According to the statement in which Tehran admits guilt, the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned to a "sensitive military center" of the Revolutionary Guard. The army was at its "highest level of alertness" due to tensions with Washington, they said.
"Under such conditions, due to human error and unintentionally, the flight was hit."
Those responsible will be "prosecuted."
Tehran also apologized for the disaster and said it would update its systems to avoid such "mistakes" in the future, and that those responsible for the attack would be "prosecuted."
One of the first reactions to Tehran's statements came from Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister.
"A sad day," Javad Zarif tweeted. “The human error at the time of the crisis caused by the American adventurer led to the disaster. Our deep repentance, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all the victims and to the other affected nations. "
"This is the right step of admitting responsibility from the Iranian government. With this admission, people are given a step towards closure," said Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian-Canadian in western Canada who lost several Friends in the accident.
“I think the investigation would have revealed (the truth), whether they admitted it or not. This will give them a chance to look good. "
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