The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran is admitting that the country's military "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing everyone on board.
Hassan Rouhani made the admission Friday night, stating on Twitter that an Armed Forces’ internal investigation concluded that the jet was hit by missiles.
Rouhani blames the act on "human error," adding that Iran deeply regrets the mistake and that he is offering his condolences to those affected by the plane crash.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences."
https://twitter.com/HassanRouhani/status/1215856679423823872
Rouhani states that investigations into what happened will continue. According to reports by NBC, Iran's military was on high alert at the time, after launching retaliation strikes in Iraq towards the U.S. for its killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani
A total of 176 people died on board flight Ukrainian International Airlines’ Flight PS752, including 57 Canadians. Five University of Windsor students and researchers were among those killed as well as four students from Western University.
The jet crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and was bound for Kyiv.
Following Rouhani's statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by saying Canada will continue to work towards justice, calling the incident a "national tragedy."
"Our focus remains closure, accountability, transparency and justice for the families and loved ones of the victims. This is a national tragedy and all Canadians are mourning together," said Trudeau. "We will continue working with our partners around the world to ensure a complete and thorough investigation and the Canadian government expects full cooperation from Iranian authorities."
https://twitter.com/CameronAhmad/status/1215876147105468416
-With files from Scott Kitching, Mark Brown