Islamic Republic

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Iran has admitted "accidentally" shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 People on Board.

An investigation revealed "That the missile fired due to human errors", President Hassan Rouhani said. He described The Crash as a "unforgivable mistake".

The military said the jet turned in the direction of a sensitive spot belonging to the Iranian revolutionary guards, and was then to be mistaken for a cruise missile.

Iran had previously rejected suggestions That it was to blame.

The Downing of the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 on Wednesday, only hours after Iran carried out missile attacks on two air force bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Strikes were a response to The Killing of senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad on 3. January.

Iran initially denied reports That a rocket had brought the Ukrainian plane in the vicinity of the capital, Tehran. But the pressure mounted quickly and according to Western intelligence officials said evidence pointed to Iranian involvement.

The plane came down shortly after takeoff from Tehran

The Ukrainian flight That had just arrived on the way to Kiev, in the vicinity of Imam Khomeini airport shortly after take-off. Victims included dozens of Iranians and Canadians, and nationals from the Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Germany.

What other explanation to give Iran ?

On Saturday Morning , an Iranian military statement on state television announced That it had accidentally Hit flight PS752 with a rocket.

He said the plane had to defend themselves in a "sensitive military centre" of The Revolutionary guards, a task force, to the Land of the Islamic system. The Statement , the "flying body attitude and height to be an enemy target".

Due to the increased tensions with the United States, the Iranian military "at the highest level of readiness," The Statement added. "In such a state, because of Human Error , and in an unintentional way, the escape was beaten. "

Iran has previously denied it was a missile strike That downed a Ukrainian jet

The military has apologized for downing the plane, saying it would prevent an upgrade of their systems That such "errors" in The Future . He added That those responsible would be held accountable and be prosecuted.

Ukraine International Airlines denies That the aircraft drifts from the expected course before The Crash . It officials have closed The Airport says.

Brig-Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the IRGC aerospace force commander, said The Force took "full responsibility" for The Crash .

He said a request had been made, for a no-fly zone in the area prior to The Incident , But - for reasons That are unclear - this was rejected.

Gen Hajizadeh said the plane was shot down by a short-range rocket exploded next to him. He said he informed The Authorities about what had happened on Wednesday, the day before Iran confessed to the public his involvement.

Iran 's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei , the military ordered to examine "the possible shortcomings, or errors" led to crash.

In a statement, he said it was "proof of Human Error " and confirmed That he "called on the competent authorities to take the necessary measures to prevent" it happened again.

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif apologized to the families of The Victims , But laid part of the blame on the USA. "Human errors in a time of crisis, caused by US adventurism has led [this] is a disaster," he said.

And about The Crash . He had said That Iran is "confident" That a rocket had not launched.

"I gave the official results. That [a] rocket could not be fired, and hits the Ukrainian aircraft in this period," he said. "I beg your pardon. "

An act of de-escalation

This is an important admission in a decisive moment for Iran .

the responsibility for such a Tragic Error is very unusual, But so is The Crisis That now confronts the Islamic Republic .

Iran has decided That it must have in order to avoid this disaster, you trigger a war of words with The West , or even further to drive anger and fear among his own People , which lurches from one disaster after another.

Make no mistake, this admission was an act of de-escalation.

The impact at home can soon be clear. Iran 's Foreign Minister has already tried to shift blame by saying That it was "a crisis caused by US adventurism".

But the big question now: who has to Take Off the decision for a civilian transport airplane, when the Iranian air space was shot through with such tensions?

What has been the reaction?

There were members of 57 Canadian state on Board of the crashed flight, and the country's Prime Minister , Justin Trudeau described the accident as "a national tragedy".

In a statement, he called for "transparency and justice for the families and relatives of The Victims ".

"We will continue to work with our partners around The World , to a complete and thorough investigation," he said.

the Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky called on Iran to punish those responsible. "We expect That Iran . to bring the culprits to the courts," he said.

elsewhere, The President of Ukraine International Airlines, said: "We have not the slightest doubt That our team and our plane was not The Cause of this terrible crash".

"That was our best boys and girls. The Best " Yevhenii Dykhne, said The Nine crew members were on Board.

Separately, Ukraine's top security official said That his country's investigators had gathered conclusive evidence of a missile strike before Iran has a responsibility added on Saturday.

Oleksiy Danilov, the BBC showed Jonah Fisher photos of the aircraft, one of which, he said, it had proved, was shot down by a missile.

What will happen before the Iran announcement?

The Statement marks a stark departure from the denials of the past few days. Only on Friday, Iran was the fact That the plane was not shot down.

"The Thing is clear to us, and That we can say with certainty That this aircraft was not Hit by a missile," Iran 's Civil Aviation organization (CAOI) chief Ali Abedzadeh said.

On Thursday, a government spokesman, Ali Rabiei , the U.S. and its allies accused are "and psychological warfare" by speculation about The Cause of The Crash .

But he indicated as proof of a missile strike to be built, calls for a transparent investigation, it was louder.

seemed to be a rocket streaking across The Night sky And Then explodes on contact with a plane.

On Thursday, television pictures showed a mechanical excavator to help clear debris from the Crash Site , the concerns That important evidence may have been removed could.

In response, Iran has promised a full investigation, inviting an accident to take agencies from Ukraine, Canada and the USA.

A hail of rockets on a passenger aircraft is not unprecedented. In 1988, an Iranian aircraft have been killed, shot down in error by a U.S. navy warship, and 290 People .

And in the year 2014, a Russian missile Hit a Malaysian civilian aircraft over the Ukraine, killing 298 People .

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Source of news: bbc.com