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Iran deeply regrets disastrous mistake with Ukrainian plane - Rouhani

Iranian President noted that the investigation continued "to identify and prosecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake"

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

TASS, January 11. Iran deeply regrets the disastrous mistake with the Ukrainian plane shot down near Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake," he wrote on his Twitter page. Rouhani also offered condolences to the victims of the tragedy.

He noted that the investigation continued to clarify the circumstances of "this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake".

On Saturday morning, ISNA News Agency released a statement made by Iran’s General Staff, which said that a Ukraine International Airlines plane had been shot down due to human error. According to the statement, the plane had flown in close proximity to one of the most important military facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

On January 8, a plane operated by Ukraine International Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristaiko, 176 people, were killed in the crash. They were citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany and the UK.

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