TASS, January 10. Iranian authorities are ready to allow all sides concerned to participate in the investigation into the causes of the Ukrainian Boeing 737 crash, the IRNA news agency reports, quoting Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabii as saying.

Ali Rabii stressed, “In accordance with international rules, the investigation of the crash can involve the civil aviation organization of the country where the incident took place, the civil aviation organization of the country that issued the airworthiness certificate (Ukraine), the plane’s owner (Ukraine), the plane’s manufacturer (Boeing) and the aircraft engines’ producer (France).” Moreover, Tehran is willing to grant access to representatives of other countries whose citizens died in the crash to take part in the investigation.

According to Rabii, a Ukrainian representative is currently in Iran. By the same token, the spokesperson advised the United Sates “to abandon disseminating false information about the tragedy,” IRNA notes.

On Wednesday, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 travelling from Tehran to Kiev crashed near the Iranian capital shortly after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. All people onboard, 167 passengers and nine crewmembers lost their lives. Most were Canadian and Iranian citizens. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristaiko announced on his Twitter page that citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, German and the UK were among those who died in the air tragedy.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he doubted a technical malfunction is to blame for the catastrophe. Newsweek and other leading US media outlets then reported that Iran could have downed the passenger jet by mistake, citing sources. At the same time, Chief Executive of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh said that Iranian experts have dismissed the version of a possible missile strike as the cause for the disaster near Tehran’s airport, citing the investigation’s preliminary results.