Iran Admits It Shot Down Ukrainian Plane That Crashed In Tehran, Blames 'Human Error'

Iran said Saturday the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Tehran killing all 176 on board earlier this week was shot down "uninintetionally" by its mititary.

The plane went down early Wednesday amid heightened tensions between the Washington and Tehran after Iran launched a volley of rockets at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops in revenge for the killing of Quds Force commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani. The Kiev-bound Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini Airport, barely hours after Iran's attack on Iraqi bases.

Iran had earlier vehemently denied western accusations that the plane, a Boeing 737 operated was Ukrainian International Airlines, shot down. The passengers include 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals.

Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces took responsibility for the plane's downing, calling it a "human error." The military in a statement carried by state media said the plane was mistaken for a “hostile target” as it turned toward a “sensitive military center” of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The Iranian military apologized for the downing, adding it would upgrade its systems to prevent such “mistakes” in the future. Those responsible would be prosecuted, it said.

Pictures allegedly from the crash site on social media showed the warhead of a Russian made anti-aircraft missile among the debris of the plane. It is still not confirmed if that missile, known as the Tor anti-aircraft system, was used to shoot down the plane.

After initially refusing to hand over the black boxes of the plane, which it said had been badly damaged, Iran granted Ukrainian experts access to the black box flight recorders. Tehran was facing mounting international pressure to allow a credible investigation into the crash.

President Donald Trump had earlier alluded to the possibility that the plane could have been shot down. "I have my suspicions," ha had said. "It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood and somebody could have made a mistake." Although not evidence was made public, the U.S. military has satellites watching over Iran, which could have picked up the launch of the missile.

A video of the plane shortly before it crashed, obtained by the New York Times and matched with satellite photos of the area of the crash, had appeared to confirm the allegations that the plane had been shot down.