The Iranian military acknowledged on television today that it "accidentally" shot down a Boeing 737-800, killing 176 people on January 8.

"A Ukrainian plane that crashed earlier this week in Iran flew to a sensitive military site belonging to the Revolutionary Guard and was accidentally shot down due to human error," the Iranian military said in a statement read on television. State form today.

The Iranian military said soldiers mistook the passenger plane as a "hostile target" due to its shape, altitude, and the sudden turn of the aircraft towards a military base. "In that situation, the plane was shot," stated a paragraph.

The statement asserted that all parties involved in the tragedy will be considered in a military judiciary and will be held accountable. The Iranian military also extended its condolences to the families of the victims on the flight.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called this a "great tragedy". "The internal investigation by the Armed Forces concluded that the unfortunate missiles fired by human error caused the catastrophic accident of Ukrainian aircraft and left 176 innocent people dead," Rouhani posted on Twitter. "Investigations are continuing to identify and prosecute this unforgivable tragedy."

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also admitted that the Ukrainian plane crashed "due to human error". "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions on the Armed Forces internal investigation: Human error at a time of crisis due to American adventureism has led to disaster," Zarif posted on Twitter. "We deeply regret, apologize and condolence to the Iranian people, the families of all the victims and other affected countries."

Boeing 737-800 aircraft with serial number PS752 of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) crashed on the morning of January 8 after taking off from the airport in Tehran, Iran. All people on board were killed.

The location of a Ukrainian plane crashed on the outskirts of Tehran. Graphics: NYTimes.

The statement acknowledged the accidental shooting of an Iranian plane after repeatedly denying the allegations, although the United States, Canada and Western intelligence said they had evidence of Iranian missiles dropping the Boeing. Earlier, Iranian authorities said that the aircraft had an engine problem and turned to the right before falling.

The shooting took place hours after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) launched missiles at two bases in Iraq, where US forces are stationed, in response to the US air raid to kill General Soleimani. , commander of Iran's Quds task force, in Baghdad. Experts say that Iranian air defense mistakenly shot the aircraft due to time pressure and high alert status after attacking the US base.

US intelligence officials said the weapon used to shoot Ukrainian aircraft is a Russian-made Tor-M1 air defense missile. The Tor rocket carries a fragile warhead, which can create thousands of metal fragments flying in all directions and destroy important control systems on the target aircraft. Depending on where the rocket explodes near the aircraft, the pilot may lose control of the aircraft immediately, or still try to add a few minutes before the aircraft ignites.