KEY POINTS

  • Record of conversation between Iranian pilot and control tower was leaked
  • Proved that Iranian officers immediately knew of the missile hitting Ukraine plane
  • Ukraine demands full and proper investigation
  • UNIAN publishe a transcript of the communication

A new audio recording released by the Ukrainian media showed that the Iranian air traffic controllers immediately knew about the missile that hit a civilian flight.

The recording caught the conversation of the Iranian air traffic officers with an Iranian plane showing that they were aware about the missile that shot down a civilian plane flying over Tehran on January 8.

“They were aware of this at the moment of the shooting,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

According to Radio Farda, the president confirmed the audio’s authenticity and insisted that Iran should send the flight recorders to Ukraine for a thorough and proper investigation.

On Monday, representative of Iran’s Aviation Organization stated that the recording was “included with document provided to the joint committee of Ukraine.”

Hassan Rezaifar, Head of the Air Accidents of Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, did not challenge the recording’s authenticity.

A Ukrainian news agency, UNIAN, released a transcript of the tower communication on Sunday where the control tower of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport addressed the Ukrainian pilot of flight PS752 in English then conversed with the captain of a civilian Iranian plane, Aseman, in Farsi.

The conversation revolved around the captain of the Aseman reporting to the control tower about something he spotted that he suspected to be a missile.

The control tower dispatcher told the Iranian captain that they have no reports of missile activity then tried to contact the Ukrainian pilot nine times but failed to reach him.

Rezaifar told the Mehr News Agency Iran that the Ukraine team has left Iran and that they will no longer provide any evidence to Ukraine because of the published recording.

This is due to domestic and international regulations that the communication between the pilot and the control tower should be kept classified and no individual or country could publish or release a recording of the conversation without the permission of the communication’s country of origin, Mehr News Agency reported.

The Ukrainian plane, flight PS752 was carrying 176 passengers and was shot down by missiles in Tehran.

The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines plane was shot down in a catastrophic error shortly after takeoff from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board
The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines plane was shot down in a catastrophic error shortly after takeoff from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board AFP / -
Ukraine